Design Article
Micron to sell Italian chip fab
Dylan McGrath
2/26/2013 2:04 AM EST
SAN FRANCISCO—German specialty chip foundry LFoundry GmbH will acquire U.S. memory chip vendor Micron Technology Inc.’s wafer fab in Avezzano, Italy, under the terms of a deal announced Monday (Feb. 26). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Micron (Boise, Idaho) said it would assign to LFoundry its four-year supply agreement with Aptina to manufacture image sensors at the 200-millimeter Avezzano fab. Micron will also grant LFoundry a restricted technology license, the company said.
The deal is expected to close later this spring, Micon said.
Micron's 200-mm wafer fab in Avezzano, Italy.
"The manufacturing capabilities of Micron's fab in Avezzano, Italy, together with our own existing fab and technologies, make this a winning combination and an important part of our strategic goal in building LFoundry's business into a premier analog mixed signal and specialty foundry partner for our customers," said LFoundry CEO Günther Ernst, in a statement.
"This transaction provides a long-term bridge toward a successful future for the Avezzano facility," said Micron CEO Mark Durcan. "The transaction not only preserves the facility and jobs in Avezzano, but it also supports a stable and long-term wafer supply for Aptina, further enhancing the value of Micron's equity holdings in Aptina."
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Micron (Boise, Idaho) said it would assign to LFoundry its four-year supply agreement with Aptina to manufacture image sensors at the 200-millimeter Avezzano fab. Micron will also grant LFoundry a restricted technology license, the company said.
The deal is expected to close later this spring, Micon said.
Micron's 200-mm wafer fab in Avezzano, Italy.
Credit: Micron Technology
"The manufacturing capabilities of Micron's fab in Avezzano, Italy, together with our own existing fab and technologies, make this a winning combination and an important part of our strategic goal in building LFoundry's business into a premier analog mixed signal and specialty foundry partner for our customers," said LFoundry CEO Günther Ernst, in a statement.
"This transaction provides a long-term bridge toward a successful future for the Avezzano facility," said Micron CEO Mark Durcan. "The transaction not only preserves the facility and jobs in Avezzano, but it also supports a stable and long-term wafer supply for Aptina, further enhancing the value of Micron's equity holdings in Aptina."
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docdivakar
2/28/2013 2:46 PM EST
...would be nice to know the inside story of this... did Micron dump a loss-leading BU?
MP Divakar
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any1
3/1/2013 11:58 AM EST
I think the bottom line is that Micron really doesn't have much use for older fabs like the one in Italy, when they can buy fairly new capacity like Elpida for pennies on the dollar.
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joshxdr
3/23/2013 10:38 AM EDT
Avezzano is a very old fab at this point. Even when it was new, it was never a benchmark facility in terms of yield or productivity. The restrictive Italian labor laws don't help. As I recall the engineers that worked there always wanted to work more on development rather than yield or productivity enhancement. Maybe they will get their wish now.
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