14 DAY TRIAL // In an attempt to further expand its market presence and better compete with TSMC, the world's leading semiconductor manufacturing company, Abu Dhabi's ATIC (Advanced Technology Investment Company) has recently announced that it has reached an agreement with Singapore-based Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, which will see ATIC acquiring the semiconductor company. According to the agreement between the two, ATIC will pay a total of US$3.9 billion for the acquisition and integrate Chartered into the recently founded GLOBALFOUNDRIES, a company spawned out of the collaboration of AMD and ATIC.
“Given the importance of scale and the need for substantial, continued capital investment, and having carefully assessed all strategic options available to Chartered, we believe this transaction provides Chartered shareholders the opportunity to realize their investment. In addition, it enables Chartered to accelerate its goal of becoming a leading player in the semiconductor industry. We have today appointed Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch as an independent financial advisor to advise shareholders on the fairness of the offer, and we will submit the proposal for a shareholder vote,” Jim Norling, chairman of the board of directors at Chartered, said.
The move, which is seen as another significant investment by ATIC in the semiconductor industry, will allow the company to take advantage of the combined expertise of both semiconductor companies, namely Chartered and GLOBALFOUNDRIES, consequently increasing its presence on the semiconductor market. GLOBALFOUNDRIES' technology expertise combined with the Chartered customer base will allow the new company to better compete with the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC.
“We believe that by having access to ATIC’s long-term capital and related assets, Chartered has an opportunity to bring its skills, capabilities and leadership to the next level,” Waleed Al Mokarrab, chairman of ATIC, added. “By acquiring Chartered, ATIC is expanding its investments in the semiconductor industry which currently consist of a GLOBALFOUNDRIES leading facility in Dresden, Germany and a new, state-of-the-art facility under construction in upstate New York.”
According to the agreement between the two companies, Doug Grose will remain the CEO of GLOBALFOUNDRIES and will serve as the CEO of combined operations, alongside Cha Song Hwee, the chief operating officer.