AMD Spinoff Globalfoundries to Buy Chartered for $1.8B

Globalfoundries is merging with Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing in a move that will create a major rival to the currently dominant Taiwan-based manufacturers.

ATIC (Advanced Technology Investment Co.), which owns Globalfoundries, announced the $1.8 billion cash deal Sept. 8. ATIC officials said they intended to merge Chartered with Globalfoundries, a chip manufacturing business founded in March with Advanced Micro Devices. AMD spun off its manufacturing business to create Globalfoundries in a joint venture with Abu Dhabi, which owns ATIC.

Globalfoundries currently has a manufacturing plant in Dresden, Germany, and is building a new $4.2 billion facility in upstate New York.

Currently Chartered is the third-largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and United Microelectronics.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Once it is completed, Doug Grose, currently CEO of Globalfoundries, will take over the same position with the combined company. Chia Song Hwee, currently Chartered's CEO, will be the chief operating officer of the combined company and will oversee the programs for integrating the two companies.

"Chartered and Globalfoundries will be able to draw on each other's strengths to enable the next generation of semiconductor innovation, utilizing the value of both companies and the intellectual capital of thousands of skilled employees," ATIC CEO Ibrahim Ajami said in a statement. "Chartered and Globalfoundries are well positioned to meet the growing chip demand to come from billions of new mobile phones, cars, televisions, computers and other devices."

Globalfoundries' two customers are AMD and STMicroelectronics, which inked a deal with Globalfoundries in July. Chartered's customers include Qualcomm and Broadcom.