TowerJazz takes over Chengdu GlobalFoundries, expands RF SOI Production capacity to meet 5G

After more than a year of shutdown, the GlobalFoundries (Chengdu) 12-inch wafer fabrication base project covering more than 1,000 acres finally saw the hope of returning to work.

However, the project is easy to change. Recently, a number of people familiar with the matter disclosed to Ji Wei. "Israel foundry company TowerJazz is about to acquire the Chengdu GlobalFoundries factory.

GlobalFoundries withdraws from cooperation with the Chengdu government. "One of TowerJazz's domestic customers revealed that "TowerJazz will expand its 12-inch RF SOI process in Chengdu, and their previous RF SOI capacity has been tight." ”

TowerJazz was formed in 2008 by the merger of Israel Tower Semiconductor and Jazz Technologies of the United States. It is the world's leading specialty wafer foundry. It is worth mentioning that Jazz's cooperation with Chinese companies can be traced back to 2003. At that time, Jazz, ranked seventh in the global foundry industry, and domestic Huahong NEC reached a cooperation to provide 0.13 micron process and RF. , high pressure and other special technology.

Previously, TowerJazz announced in August 2017 that it would cooperate with the Nanjing Municipal Government through technology licensing to build an 8-inch production line with a planned monthly production capacity of 40,000 wafers, of which about 50% of the capacity is used to undertake orders for TowerJazz. But then, TowerJazz did not announce the progress of the project.

TowerJazz has seven fabs in Israel, the United States, and Japan. "The most important products are RF products in mobile phones, with a monthly capacity of about 40,000 wafers. There are also some good products such as high voltage and silicon germanium. The major companies such as Panasonic, Infineon and Broadcom are closely cooperating.” Many industry insiders said, “TowerJazz’s production line in the United States has been full. After the acquisition of the Matsushita factory in the past few years, it has eased slightly, but it still has insufficient capacity.”

According to Tower Jazz's previous forecast, in the next few years, the company's RF products will increase by 150%-200% due to the 5G outbreak, and the company's revenue will increase from $1.3 billion in 2018 to more than $3.4 billion. It is for this reason that TowerJazz needs to expand its production capacity rapidly, and China with the largest 5G market is the ideal investment area for TowerJazz.

However, China is not currently the main market for TowerJazz, and TowerJazz's revenue is 86% from the US and Japan. At present, its largest domestic customer is Zhuo Shengwei, Zhuo Sheng Micro Finance reported that in 2016, 2017, 2018, Zhuo Sheng micro to TowerJazz procurement of wafers costs 60.25 million, 101 million, 104 million yuan. With the arrival of 5G, TowerJazz's revenue from China will grow rapidly.

In fact, in addition to Chengdu and Nanjing, TowerJazz also negotiated with the Hefei government. “It’s very likely that the Chengdu government, which is eager to find a takeover, has given more favorable conditions,” said a person familiar with the matter. “The factory in Chengdu has been built and the equipment in the factory is very small. For TowerJazz, this acquisition does not need Too much money.” Previously, the Chengdu government invested 1.2 billion U.S. dollars to complete the construction of the plant and its ancillary projects. However, GlobalFoundries did not introduce equipment into the plant as originally agreed. Only one set of AMHS systems purchased from Japan was used in the entire plant. 1.2 billion yuan and most of it is subsidized by the Chengdu government.

At present, although the two parties have not announced the details of the contract and the amount of the contract, in the context of the eagerness of the Chengdu government to find a partner, TowerJazz, which has a cash flow of 300 million US dollars, does not have much financial burden.

"For the Chengdu government, this is a blessing in the unfortunate, and may even be a blessing in disguise." Many RF industry professionals said, "This project has great benefits for the domestic RF industry. Although the domestic foundry also has RF. SOI, but don't pay attention to it. Now, after TowerJazz gets up, you don't have to worry about productivity, and product technology communication is much more convenient. China needs such an RF SOI fab to promote the entire RF industry."