Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories.
Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business.
There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) told CNA.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Citing four sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that TSMC would not own more than 50 percent of the joint venture.
The talks are at an early stage and any final deal would need approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration, which does not want Intel or its foundry division to be fully foreign-owned, the sources said.
Some sources added that TSMC also made such proposals to Qualcomm Inc.
Intel and other related companies also declined to comment on the report.
The report came after TSMC last week announced with Trump that the company planned to make a fresh US$100 billion investment in the US, including three advanced chip wafer factories, two advanced chip packaging factories, and a research and development center.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) cited sources in the semiconductor industry who said that TSMC might not want to invest in Intel, as the US chip giant has many problems, and the two companies are different on many fronts, including corporate culture and manufacturing operations.
It is also impossible for TSMC to negotiate with its US customers to form a joint venture with less than a 50 percent stake, not to mention that former Intel directors have voiced opposition to TSMC taking control of Intel’s foundry business, the Liberty Times reported.
It remains to be seen whether the speculation would become reality, the sources said.
Intel reported net losses of US$18.8 billion for last year, its first yearly loss since 1986, driven by large impairments. Its foundry division’s property and plant equipment had a book value of US$108 billion as of Dec. 31 last year, a company filing showed.
Trump is keen to revive Intel’s fortunes and his administration has asked TSMC, the world’s leading contract chipmaker, to help turn around the troubled US chip giant, Reuters reported.
Bloomberg News last month reported that TSMC was considering a plan to acquire and operate equity in Intel’s factories at the request of the Trump administration, while Broadcom was interested in acquiring Intel’s chip design and marketing sector.
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