It is not the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, but Intel buys Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 billion. It has 7 factories and its chips don’t have the best process in the world, but Intel may benefit from its ability.
It is obvious that there is a race in the foundry in which Intel will not want to be left behind. Intel Foundry is the foundry service of the brand, and it seems that they are going to invest a lot of money in this business. TSMC and Samsung have revealed how much business there is in the sector, so Intel is going all out.
Intel acquires Tower Semiconductor to expand its foundry
Who is Tower? A semiconductor manufacturer Israeli which has 7 factories in which wafers from 150 to 300 mm are produced. They handle lithographs of patient 65 nmso it is not first technology, but they do have 300 companies among their clients.
Among the chips they manufacture, we find CMOS sensorsRF (radio frequency) Analog, MEMS, CIS, Power Discrete, chips for smartphones, for automobiles, Power IC, etc. They manufacture everything and their work solutions in silicon photonics (SiGe) or lasers seem interesting.
This company has experience in the mobile, automotive and energy sectors, and the truth is that its facilities are between the US and Asia. They work with a production capacity of more than 2 million wafers per yearsomething that Intel would see very favorably.
Intel has a lot of experience in chips and high technology, so it can take advantage of this Israeli enclave to make more chips and meet more demand. We do not know what plans Intel has after this new acquisition for the 7 Israeli factories, but the truth is that the shares have risen 53% after the closing of the operation.
And we are not talking about a poor company: Intel buys Tower Semiconductor in a period in which they generate profits and are financially healthy. This February 17 is going to present the current figures, but the truth is that Intel has closed the operation earlier than expected: both companies have given the OK unanimously by the boards of directors.
As we see in the Intel press release, it talks about “capacity”, so one of the objectives of the Santa Clara would be to increase it.
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