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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →No—Infineon never bought Wolfspeed. Cree agreed in July 2016 to sell its Wolfspeed Power and RF division to Infineon for $850 million, but the proposed transaction was terminated in February 2017 after the companies could not resolve national-security concerns raised by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
What Cree proposed to sell
On July 14, 2016, Cree announced a definitive agreement to sell its Wolfspeed Power and RF division to Infineon for cash. The proposed sale included silicon-carbide (SiC) substrate operations serving power, radio-frequency (RF) and gemstone applications. The companies expected a closing near the end of 2016, subject to regulatory conditions.
Infineon’s 2016 presentation described the business as including SiC-based products for power applications, gallium-nitride-on-silicon-carbide (GaN-on-SiC) products for RF power applications, and a SiC wafer-substrate business. For the 12 months ending March 27, 2016, the division reported $173 million in revenue. Infineon said it had approximately 550 employees worldwide, about 500 of them at two major U.S. sites, and an intellectual-property portfolio of approximately 2,000 patents and patent applications.
Proposed deal terms
| Term | What the companies said in 2016 |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | US$850 million in cash, on a cash-and-debt-free basis (Cree announcement and Infineon presentation). |
| Financing described by Infineon | US$720 million in bank loans plus US$130 million in cash on hand (Infineon presentation). |
| Signing | July 13, 2016 (Infineon presentation); Cree announced the definitive agreement on July 14. |
| Expected closing | Around the end of calendar 2016, subject to regulatory conditions (Cree announcement and Infineon presentation). |
Why the $850 million transaction failed
The obstacle was CFIUS review. CFIUS is the U.S. interagency committee that reviews certain foreign investments for national-security concerns. In its February 16, 2017 release, Cree said the companies had been unable to identify alternatives that would address CFIUS’s national-security concerns, so the proposed transaction would be terminated.
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The release did not detail the concerns or identify specific alternatives the companies considered. It said Wolfspeed would be reintegrated into Cree’s continuing operations. Infineon was to pay Cree a $12.5 million termination fee. Cree chairman and CEO Chuck Swoboda said, “We are disappointed that the Wolfspeed sale to Infineon could not be completed.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to Wolfspeed afterward
The failed Infineon sale and Wolfspeed’s later corporate developments were separate events. The 2017 termination returned the division to Cree; it did not transfer ownership to Infineon. Later, Wolfspeed became the subject of a financial restructuring and a separate development involving Renesas-related shares.
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| Event | Status and reported terms |
|---|---|
| Infineon proposal, 2016–2017 | Proposed cash purchase of Cree’s Wolfspeed Power and RF division for $850 million; terminated in February 2017 after CFIUS-related concerns remained unresolved. |
| Wolfspeed reorganization, 2025 | Wolfspeed announced court approval of its Chapter 11 reorganization plan on September 8, 2025, and expected the plan to reduce debt by approximately 70%. |
| Renesas-related shares, 2026 | In January 2026, Wolfspeed reported that CFIUS clearance allowed escrowed Renesas shares to be released. Wolfspeed reported approximately 45.1 million shares outstanding after the related issuances. |
The later CFIUS clearance involving Renesas shares does not mean the 2016 review was resolved: the Infineon transaction had already been terminated in 2017. Nor are the later restructuring figures terms of the proposed Infineon purchase; that proposal was a cash sale, while the 2025–2026 events involved restructuring and equity issuances.
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