SINGAPORE - A Chinese company has made a takeover bid for local semiconductor firm STATS ChipPAC, the latter said on Thursday.

Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET) plans to acquire all the shares in STATS ChipPAC for US$780 million (S$1 billion).

Based on the exchange rate on Nov 2, this would amount to 45.2 Singapore cents a share, STATS ChipPAC noted.

STATS ChipPAC, which late last month posted a net loss of US$5.29 million for the third quarter ended Sept 28, is 84-per cent owned by Temasek Holdings. The stake is valued at S$1.1 billion at the current share price.

The proposed buyout does not include STATS ChipPAC's subsidiaries in Taiwan, the 52 per cent-owned STATS ChipPAC Taiwan Semiconductor Corporation and 100 per cent-owned STATS ChipPAC Taiwan.

These units will be restructured to enableSTATS ChipPAC's existing shareholders to maintain their effective ownership interests before the completion of the proposed takeover, the firm said.

JCET, listed on the Shanghai stock exchange is the largest electronics packaging service provider in China. It has five manufacturing facilities in the provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui.

There is no assurance that the JCET proposal will result in any definitive agreement or transaction, STATS ChipPAC warned in its statement.

The two firms have agreed to negotiate, on an exclusive basis, the definitive agreement for the proposed deal up to Nov 30, or such later date as they may agree.

STATS ChipPAC had said in late August that JCET and another Chinese chip-testing firm, Tianshui Huatian Technology Co, had approached it about a buyout.

Tianshui Huatian then said on Aug 30 that it had terminated its talks.