Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Sources: Intel likely to drop acquisition of Tower Semi

Intel failed to secure clearance from Chinese regulators for its pending acquisition of Tower Semiconductor.

Media sources, including Reuters and Bloomberg, reported that Intel is likely to walk away from deal.

In February 2022, Intel agreed to acquire Tower Semiconductor for $53 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $5.4 billion. 

Tower Semiconductor, which is based in Migdal Haemek, Israel, offers expertise is in specialty technologies, such as radio frequency (RF), power, silicon-germanium (SiGe) and industrial sensors, extensive IP and electronic design automation (EDA) partnerships, and an established foundry footprint. It operates seven manufacturing facilities: Fab 1 and Fab 2 (150mm and 200mm) in Israel, Fab 3 and Fab 9 (200mm) in Newport Beach, California and in San Antonio, Texas and three additional fabs (two 200mm and one 300mm) in Japan via a partnership with  Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan. Tower is also sharing a 300mm manufacturing facility being established in Italy with ST Microelectronics. Altogether, Tower offers more than 2 million wafer starts per year of capacity. Tower also has a silicon photonics foundry.