Looks like there will be additional equipment purchase in Taiwan.
TSMC to acquire 30% of Acer Semiconductor
A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc.
Story posted 9 a.m. EST/6 a.m., PST, 6/8/99
HSINCHU, Taiwan--Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and the Acer Group here
announced an expansion of their strategic alliance, including TSMC's agreement to acquire
30% of Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. As part of the agreement, ASMI will be
renamed TSMC-Acer Semiconductor Corp.
"Not only will TSMC purchase 30% of ASMI shares, but we will also provide full support
to transform ASMI into another leading dedicated foundry," said Morris Chang, chairman of
TSMC. "This agreement will help both companies establish a mutually complementary
capacity support system and further strengthen the already strong alliance between TSMC
and Acer."
Under the new agreement, TSMC and Acer will expand their collaboration in IC
manufacturing technology, capacity support, and management. After the purchase is
complete, TSMC and Acer will be the two major shareholders of ASMI, the two companies
said.
TSMC, the world's largest pure-play silicon foundry, will purchase 30% of the ASMI shares
for NT$5.47 billion, or at NT$9.5 per share. Under the agreement, Acer will continue to
hold 30% of the ASMI shares.
The agreement stipulates that TSMC will manage the newly formed corporation turning it
into a dedicated foundry company. As a result, the future president of ASMI will be assigned
by TSMC, and the new chairman will be selected from TSMC's four director positions.
To position itself as a dedicated foundry, ASMI plans to do a cash offering of NT$8 billion
to NT$10 billion in order to purchase new equipment to adjust parts of its operation line to
logic-based processes. The company said it expects a monthly capacity for 0.25 and
0.22-micron technologies will be increased to 38,000 eight-inch wafers by the end of 2000. |
