12575 Texas Instruments (TXN) to sell memory venture stake to Acer
Acer to Purchase Texas Instruments Shares in TI-Acer Joint Venture Operation to Become
Acer Subsidiary
PR Newswire, Wednesday, March 04, 1998 at 02:16
TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Acer Group and Texas
Instruments Incorporated (NYSE:TXN) today announced a definitive agreement
for Acer to purchase TI's shares in the TI-Acer semiconductor memory chip
joint venture, located in Taiwan.
Under terms of the agreement, Acer will continue to operate the TI-Acer
manufacturing facility in Hsinchu Science Park, maintaining the existing
workforce of approximately 1500 employees. The operation would become a
business of The Acer Group, and would operate under the name of Acer
Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (ASMI).
"This strategic action enhances Acer's business goals to move into the
semiconductor foundry business," said Stan Shih, chairman and chief executive
officer of Acer. "We have stated that we wanted to be a major player in the
semiconductor manufacturing area. With this agreement, Acer will acquire one
of the largest and most advanced wafer fabs in Taiwan, capable of producing a
variety of advanced integrated circuits."
"This agreement offers Acer an excellent opportunity to quickly become a
major player in the semiconductor fabrication business," said Richard K.
Templeton, president of TI's semiconductor group. "It provides them with a
state-of-the-art facility, advanced technology and skilled employees, while
also providing growth opportunities for the TI-Acer operation."
The TI-Acer facility includes one 8-inch wafer fab line and one 6-inch
line, and produces 16-megabit and 64-megabit DRAMs using 0.28-micron
technology. During a transition period TI will continue to purchase 16Mb and
64Mb DRAM products from this facility.
As part of the agreement, TI and Acer have agreed upon the essential terms
of a ten-year semiconductor patent cross-license agreement between TI and Acer
Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. Under the terms of the license agreement,
ASMI will be licensed to manufacture its own products as well as to act as a
foundry for the products of other companies.
The joint-venture company was established in 1989 for the purpose of
manufacturing dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips used in electronic
products. Presently, Acer holds a 48 percent share of the company's voting
shares, TI holds 33 percent and other investors hold the remaining 19 percent.
The transaction is subject to certain third-party approvals and is expected to
close within the second quarter. In connection with this action, TI expects
to recover its original investment. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Established in 1976, Acer is one of the world's largest PC companies,
offering a broad selection of industry-leading, high-end multi-user servers,
multimedia PCs, notebooks, computer peripherals and components, and
communications devices. More than 23,000 employees and 120 enterprises are
found worldwide in 44 countries, supporting dealers and distributors in over
100 countries. The Acer Group's turnover in 1997 was US$6.3 billion. To find
out more, check out Acer's web site at acer.com
Texas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the
world's leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing solutions,
the engines driving the digitization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas,
Texas, the company's businesses also include materials and controls,
educational productivity solutions, and digital imaging. The company has
manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at
ti.com. |
