Nexperia buys 'Loenens pleasure garden' for suspended CEO Mr Wing

The estate's former owner, real estate developer Robbert Klaver, confirmed to RTL Z that while the estate was purchased by Nexperia, it is intended as a home for Zhang, his family, and entourage. "I understand he found Vinkeveen too noisy, that he didn't feel sufficiently free there. Now, while he's close to the airport, he has plenty of privacy. We were outside the center of Loenen; it's truly a country estate."

The De Zonneroos estate is more than just a property. The real estate agents involved in the sale describe it on Funda as "a private island, a holiday resort, and a family home all rolled into one." It is surrounded by its own private park of 3.4 hectares, giving the "impressive estate" a high degree of privacy.

In March, when the estate was just put up for sale and the name of its remarkable new owner was not yet known, business magazine Quote described it as a "Loenen pleasure garden" and emphasized its extremely luxurious finish and appearance. "The farmhouse coziness in the kitchen, for example, effortlessly alternates with country-house grandeur in other rooms."

The dozens of photos that can still be seen on Funda support the image of extreme luxury.

Selling agent Dirk Gerwig confirms the sale to Nexperia but declines to elaborate. "I won't say who I showed around there, or what was discussed. That's a privacy-sensitive matter. But you can imagine someone like that has a lot of people doing these kinds of things for them," he says.

Four months after Nexperia purchased the estate, the controversy surrounding the chip company erupted. The Chinese owners lost control of the Dutch parts of the company, and Zhang was suspended as a director by the judges of the Enterprise Chamber (see box below).

It's questionable whether this will also affect Zhang's occupancy of the farmhouse. Firstly, because the estate is formally owned by Nexperia, and the Dutch portions have been separated from the Chinese owner. Secondly, because Zhang has been temporarily suspended as a Dutch administrator, and therefore may need to be in the Netherlands less frequently for work. According to local residents, the past few weeks have been remarkably quiet.

Spokespeople for Nexperia itself did not respond to questions from RTL Z in recent days. A spokesperson for parent company Wingtech and Zhang could not yet answer questions, as they had not yet received a response from China. This also makes it unclear why the estate was purchased by Nexperia and not by Zhang personally.

Former owner Klaver says that at the time of the sale, he knew nothing about the new owner's background. "We didn't realize at the time who exactly we were selling the house to. It was a very private affair," he says. "I knew Nexperia was a company from Nijmegen and a sponsor of the NEC football club. So we didn't even see 'Mister Wing,' as he was presented to us. It wasn't until I later read about the developments in the FD that I thought: Nexperia? That's my buyer!"

See in the video below why we're going to be affected by the controversy surrounding chipmaker Nexperia:

Chipmaker Nexperia , formerly part of electronics group Philips, was acquired in 2019 by China's Wingtech, the business conglomerate of entrepreneur Zhang Xuezheng. Zhang, often referred to as 'Mr Wing', became chairman of Nexperia in 2020.

At the end of September, the Ministry of Economic Affairs took drastic action against the company due to concerns that its Chinese owners intend to relocate its production and expertise to China. As a result, the company will be unable to make independent strategic decisions for a year. Normal business operations will continue, however. Furthermore, at the beginning of October, the CEO was temporarily removed from his position by the Enterprise Chamber, a specialized court for corporate disputes.

This has resulted in a massive economic and political row in recent weeks, with the company's Chinese owners attempting to regain control. The Chinese government has banned the company from exporting chips from China, which could pose a major problem for European factories.