The price equates to roughly $53 per share and once completed will significantly bolster Intel’s IDM 2.0 strategy that aims to expand the company's manufacturing capacity, global footprint and technology portfolio.
“Tower’s specialty technology portfolio, geographic reach, deep customer relationships and services-first operations will help scale Intel’s foundry services and advance our goal of becoming a major provider of foundry capacity globally,” said Pat Gelsinger (pictured), CEO of Intel.
“This deal will enable Intel to offer a compelling breadth of leading-edge nodes and differentiated specialty technologies on mature nodes – unlocking new opportunities for existing and future customers in an era of unprecedented demand for semiconductors.”
In line with Intel's IDM 2.0 strategy, the company established Intel Foundry Services (IFS) in March 2021 to help meet the growing global demand for semiconductor manufacturing and to become a major producer in the US and Europe.
At present, IFS offer edge process and packaging technology, committed capacity in the US and Europe and other geographies in the future, and a broad intellectual property portfolio.
“We are thrilled to welcome the Tower team to Intel. Their decades of foundry experience, deep customer relationships and technology offerings will accelerate the growth of Intel Foundry Services," said Dr Randhir Thakur, president of Intel Foundry Services.
"We are building Intel Foundry Services to be a customer-first technology innovator with the broadest range of IP, services and capacity. Tower and IFS together will provide a broad portfolio of foundry solutions at global scale to enable our customers’ ambitions.”
Tower Semiconductor specialises in technologies, such as radio frequency, power, silicon-germanium, also known as SiGe, and industrial sensors, extensive intellectual property and electronic design automation partnerships, as well as an established factory footprint.
Tower has factory presence across the US and Asia serving fabless companies (those design and sell hardware and semiconductor chips but does not manufacture them) as well as integrated device manufacturer's, creating more than 2 million wafer starts per year of capacity with specific growth opportunities in Texas, Israel, Italy and Japan.
“With a rich history, Tower has built an incredible range of specialty analogue foundry solutions based upon deep customer partnerships, with worldwide manufacturing capabilities. I could not be prouder of the company and of our talented and dedicated employees,” said Russell Ellwanger, Tower CEO.
“Together with Intel, we will drive new and meaningful growth opportunities and offer even greater value to our customers through a full suite of technology solutions and nodes and a greatly expanded global manufacturing footprint. We look forward to being an integral part of Intel’s foundry offering.”
The news follows Intel's recently announced capacity expansions in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as plans to invest $20 billion in a new mega-site in Ohio.
