Intel announces acquisition of Israeli foundry 'Tower Semiconductor' for about 620 billion yen


by

Morton Lin

Intel announced on February 15, 2022 local time that it will acquire Israeli foundry company Tower Semiconductor for $ 5.4 billion. Tower Semiconductor has been manufacturing analog integrated circuits for semiconductor companies around the world for nearly 30 years, and this acquisition is expected to strengthen Intel's foundry business announced in 2021.

Intel to Acquire Tower Semiconductor for $ 5.4 Billion
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/news/feb-2022-corporate-news.html



Intel acquires Tower Semiconductor for $ 5.4 billion --Protocol
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/intel-tower-semiconductor-acquisition

Intel to Acquire Tower Semiconductor for $ 5.4B To Expand IFS Capabilities
https://www.anandtech.com/show/17256/intel-to-acquire-tower-semiconductor-for-54b-to-expand-ifs-capabilities

Intel announced on its official website that it has agreed to acquire Tower Semiconductor's shares for $ 53 per share for a total of approximately $ 5.4 billion. 'This acquisition will expand our manufacturing capacity, global business development and technology portfolio to meet the industry's unprecedented demand, making a significant step forward for Intel's IDM 2.0 strategy,' said Intel.

'IDM 2.0' is a strategy announced by Intel in March 2021 to expand the foundry service. Intel establishes 'Intel Foundry Services (IFS)', a business unit to increase investment in its own manufacturing equipment and third-party foundries and to provide global foundry services amid growing global demand for semiconductors. And so on.

Intel announced 'IDM 2.0' aiming to expand foundry services by investing more than 2 trillion yen, and it was pointed out that 'We are planning to manufacture Apple Silicon' --GIGAZINE



Tower Semiconductor, an Israel-based foundry company with a history of about 30 years, announced the acquisition of high-frequency semiconductors, MEMS , CMOS image sensors, and silicon-germanium transistors using old process manufacturing technology that Intel no longer uses.・ Manufactures power management chips, etc., and provides chips in fields such as defense industry, automobiles, wireless products, and industrial sensors. Major trading companies include Broadcom, Panasonic, Samsung, etc., and Intel has long been one of Tower Semiconductor's customers.

Tower Semiconductor has two chip manufacturing plants in Israel, one in Italy, and one in California and Texas in the United States. In Japan, the factory of Tower Partners Semiconductor (TPSCo) , a subsidiary established jointly with Nuvoton Technology Japan Corporation (formerly Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Corporation), will be located in Myoko City, Niigata Prefecture, Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture, and Uozu City, Toyama Prefecture. It has been placed .



Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger said of the acquisition: 'Tower Semiconductor's expertise portfolio, geographic reach, close customer relationships and service-first operations expand Intel's foundry services and expand global foundry capacity. Helps us move on to our goal of becoming a leading provider of semiconductors. ”“ This agreement allows Intel to offer a wide range of differentiated specialty technologies for cutting-edge and mature nodes, and semiconductor demand has ever been. We will be able to offer new opportunities to existing and future customers in an ever-growing era. '

'Probably the most important thing is that Intel will buy a company with 30 years of experience as a contract semiconductor maker. Intel's foundry service is less than a year old and has rivals. I don't have many years of operational experience, 'he said, pointing out that having the know-how of Tower Semiconductor is a big advantage for Intel.

Although the transaction has already been unanimously approved by the board of directors of Intel and Tower Semiconductor, it will take about 12 months to complete the acquisition.

in Hardware, Posted by log1h_ik