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ATIC to Pay $1.8b for Asian Chipmaker

ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi government-owned Advanced Technology Investment Company LLC, or ATIC, has agreed to pay $1.8 billion in cash for Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., the world’s third-biggest maker of customised microchips.

The deal, which both companies announced in a joint statement on Monday, marks a major step forward in ATIC’s effort to become a leader in semiconductor technology.

ATIC’s buyout of the Asian chip-maker, to be completed in the fourth quarter, would be its second major investment in the semiconductor industry since March, when it set up Globalfoundries, a US-based chip manufacturer and joint-venture with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. The Abu Dhabi company said it is eyeing additional acquisitions in the industry.

“You will see ATIC as a credible and successful leader in the semiconductor industry. We are a serious investor and in the next five years we have a clear path,” said ATIC Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Ajami, speaking to the Reuters news agency by phone from Singapore. He declined to specify any targets.

An acquisition of Chartered would also fit with Abu Dhabi’s broader strategy of diversifying its economy away from oil.

Abu Dhabi is the world’s third largest crude producer after Russia and Saudi Arabia, but it is investing heavily at home in sources of alternative energy and overseas in industries such as auto manufacturing.

“We are open to investing in other sectors too. Now we are focused on semiconductors, but some time in the future, we will be considering other areas to invest,” Ajami said.

Chartered has lost money in each of the last four quarters, and Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings has long wanted to unload its 62 per cent stake in the unprofitable company. Most recently, Chartered posted a $39.4 million net loss in the second quarter.

The company makes chips for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console but has struggled against bigger Taiwanese competitors, and the deal with ATIC could help it get past its financial woes.

Signs of recovery among semiconductor makers that have been hammered by chronic oversupply and weak demand have prompted expectations that stronger players will take out weaker rivals. Bigger semicnductor foundries, which supply chips for designers and chipmakers that outsource production, could then spend more heavily to upgrade technology and win more orders for a new generation of personal computers, cell phones and flat-screen TVs.

ATIC’s investments in the semiconductor industry currently consist of a Globalfoundries facility in Dresden, Germany, and a new facility under construction in New York state, ATIC Chairman Waleed Al Mokarrab said in the joint statement. ATIC’s offer values each Chartered share at $2.68, for a 14.2 per cent premium to the chipmaker’s 30 trading-day volume at weighted average prices.

“The transaction will allow ATIC to build on the complementary platforms of Chartered and Globalfoundries, with Chartered’s customer relationships and capabilities in both 8-inch and 12-inch fabrication, and Globalfoundries’ advanced technology expertise, capacity profile and global footprint,” ATIC said in the statement.

Chartered has a 11.3 per cent share of the worldwide custom-chip market. Taiwan-based United Microelectronics has 14.1 per cent of the market, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. controls 49 per cent, according to iSuppli data, a market intelligence firm.

· haseebhaider@khaleejtimes.com

· With inputs from Agencies