Globalfoundries, TI in bid to purchase Powerchip 12-inch fab equipment

Globalfoundries and Texas Instruments (TI) have both provided offers to acquire part of the equipment installed at Powerchp Technology's P3 12-inch plant, bringing uncertainty to the outcome of the facility sale, industry sources observe.

Powerchip has decided to tear down its P3 12-inch fab by selling the production equipment and land separately. The DRAM maker reportedly has approached several Taiwan-based niche-market memory suppliers, including Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology (ESMT), Etron Technology, Winbond Electronics and Zentel Electronics, to place their bids to take over the facilities.

ESMT, Etron and Zentel are mulling the possibility of jointly acquiring a portion of the production lines and related equipment located at Powerchip's P3 fab, while Winbond prefers to make its own purchase, the sources revealed. Nonetheless, Powerchip and the four firms reach consensus on keeping the equipment and facilities they will acquire at Powerchip's P3 plant, the sources said.

While Powerchip has to cooperate with its creditor banks with respect to the land and equipment sale, the banks intend to block the joint bid made by those Taiwan-based niche-market memory makers, the sources pointed out. The offers provided by Globalfoundries and TI appear to be favored by Powerchip's creditor banks, the sources said.

More than 10 companies have participated in the sale of Powerchip's 12-inch equipment and facilities, the sources added.

P3 is one of Powerchip's 12-inch plants, dedicated to producing DRAM chips. Located at the Hsinchu Science Park (HSP), northern Taiwan, P3 has a production capacity of 45,000 wafers a month.