Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chip maker, agreed to a plan that will lead to the buy-out of a Singapore government stake in a chip venture located in the city-state.
TSMC plans to pay US$73 million [M] for a 6.8 percent stake in Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Co. Pte. Ltd. (SSMC), a company it jointly built with Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV.
Under a plan unveiled in late September, Philips’ former chip division, now an independent company called NXP Semiconductors, said it would team up with TSMC to buy the entire 17.5 percent stake of SSMC held by a government-owned company set up to encourage industry development in Singapore through funding, EDB Investments Pte. Ltd.
The purchase will raise TSMC’s stake in SSMC to 38.8 percent, while NXP has said it will buy the remaining portion of the company, or a 10.7 percent stake. After the purchase has been completed, TSMC and NXP will be the sole stake holders in the Singaporean chip company.
