Intel May Invest in Materials Makers, Japan Industrial Says
By Minoru Matsutani
quote.bloomberg.com
Tokyo, Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp.'s investment arm is in talks to buy stakes in several Japanese semiconductor-materials makers to maintain its lead in computer-chip technology, the Japan Industrial Journal said on its Web site, without citing anybody.
Intel Capital, a unit of the world's biggest chipmaker, has shifted strategy in Japan by boosting investment in chip-related companies rather than companies in Internet-related businesses, the report said.
In June, Intel Capital bought 10 billion yen ($85.2 million) of convertible bonds of Nikon Corp., the world's biggest maker of machines that print circuitry onto silicon wafers, according to the Web site.
The Intel unit had $1.4 billion in outstanding investments at the end of June, holding stakes in 480 companies in North America, Japan, Asia, Europe, South America and Israel, the report said. Intel Capital has invested in 15 Japanese companies, holding less than a 20 percent stake in each of them, the report said.
Chip-materials makers in Japan include Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., the world's biggest maker of silicon wafers.
Officials at Intel couldn't be reached for comment.
(The Japan Industrial Journal, 8-16) |
