US President Barack Obama will today block the proposed $716 million sale of German semiconductor firm Aixtron to China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund, according to Bloomberg.

Although headquartered in Germany, the company has a subsidiary in Sunnyvale, California, and has shares listed on both the Frankfurt and New York stock exchanges. As a result, the transaction requires regulatory approval from both German and US authorities.

Transactions involving overseas takeovers of US or US-listed companies dealing in critical infrastructure, and those that may raise national security concerns, require the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CIFUS).

Following its investigation, CIFUS referred the matter to the President’s office, citing “unresolved national security concerns” with the deal. The authority’s statement recommended the President turn down the proposed acquisition on these grounds.

Aixtron produces semiconductors for a range of industries, including several major suppliers in the defence sector in the US and around the world.

The speculation comes weeks after the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s latest report to Congress, where it recommended the complete ban on takeovers of US companies by any Chinese organisations which are part or completely state-owned.

It recommended: “Congress amend the statute authorising the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to bar Chinese state-owned enterprises from acquiring or otherwise gaining effective control of US companies.”

The final decision from the President’s office is expected later today. Should the deal be blocked, it will be the first time he has prevented the Chinese acquisition of a US-traded company since 2012.