TAIPEI -- Luxshare Precision Industry of China is acquiring its first iPhone assembly plant, paving the way for the company to move up the Apple supply chain and challenge Taiwanese rival Foxconn, which has long dominated production of the iconic device.
Luxshare, already a key supplier of Apple's AirPods, has agreed to buy two Chinese subsidiaries of Wistron for 3.3 billion yuan ($471.5 million). Acquiring these subsidiaries will give Luxshare control of Wistron's key iPhone assembly plant in the Chinese city of Kushan, the Nikkei Asian Review has learned. The move comes after Luxshare's planned acquisition of Catcher Technology, a supplier of iPhone metal frames, fell apart in early June, multiple sources told Nikkei.