GlobalFoundries Looking for Buyers, Samsung and SK Hynix Seem Interested

[btarunr]

GlobalFoundries is looking to be sold lock-stock-and-barrel by its investors, after heavily downsizing and parting with some of its Singapore-based assets recently. Once promising to lead the market with 7 nm and 5 nm advancements, the company crashed out of the sub-10 nm race, making AMD, its biggest customer, look for 7 nm supplies from TSMC. GlobalFoundries is the world's third largest semiconductor foundry service provider, with an 8.4 percent market share, behind TSMC and Samsung. Intel doesn't offer manufacturing services, as its fabs are fully dedicated to manufacturing its own products.

GlobalFoundries's main investor is Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Technology, which holds a 90 percent stake in the company. Korean semiconductor companies Samsung and SK Hynix are reportedly in the foray to buy out GlobalFoundries, as it would give them a turnkey presence in the US, with its Upstate New York facilities. The company is unlikely to entertain bids from Chinese companies, as CFIUS would likely block the sale. "Global Foundries is unlikely to be bought by a Chinese company such as SMIC in that the U.S. government is keeping China in check in various industries," said an industry insider, adding, "The most potential candidates include South Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and Samsung Electronics can increase its share in the market to 23 percent at once if it takes over Global Foundries."



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[PhantomTaco]

Just a quick typo fix: Mubadala is the name of the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, not Mubdala

 

[TheLostSwede]

Intel has offered foundry services, but then ended up buying the client...

This is rather disconcerting, as it means even more consolidation/less competition in an already tiny business. It's not good news for fabless chip makers, which in reality, is most chip makers apart from Intel these days. Let's hope some third party decides to buy them, so Global Foundries can stay independent.

 

[laszlo]

Intel has offered foundry services, but then ended up buying the client...

This is rather disconcerting, as it means even more consolidation/less competition in an already tiny business. It's not good news for fabless chip makers, which in reality, is most chip makers apart from Intel these days. Let's hope some third party decides to buy them, so Global Foundries can stay independent.

buyer should have know-how , qualified engineers to put it back on track in my opinion as this may be the reason they have problems under 10 nm; if this is the case than guess who will buy it...

 

[medi01]

This is rather disconcerting, as it means even more consolidation/less competition in an already tiny business. It's not good news for fabless chip makers, which in reality, is most chip makers apart from Intel these days. Let's hope some third party decides to buy them, so Global Foundries can stay independent.

You don't consider Samsung a chip maker?
Agree on the rest.

 

[cyneater]

You don't consider Samsung a chip maker?
Agree on the rest.

I though samsung use to make chips the ... DEC alphas and SUN sparcs ... :S ....

 

[ArbitraryAffection]

AMD ! Buy it back!

 

[I No]

AMD ! Buy it back!

I really hope that's sarcasm lol

 

[ArbitraryAffection]

I really hope that's sarcasm lol

Is it bad if i said i was serious? xD Would be cool if they had a foundry again

 

[I No]

Is it bad if i said i was serious? xD Would be cool if they had a foundry again

Well seeing that the deal they had was borderline extortion from GF's part. Besides I don't see AMD digging themselves deeper into debt. So they're better off sold to someone who can afford them

 

[seronx]

We will have to wait and see the profit margin from 22FDX and 12FDX. It is unlikely Mubadala will sell anything if those nodes turn GlobalFoundries around.

- Synaptics -> https://www.synaptics.com/company/news/AS3xx
- Shanghai Fudan
- Rockchip
So far, and there was 20 production tapeouts at the end of 2018.

 

[TheLostSwede]

You don't consider Samsung a chip maker?
Agree on the rest.

Most isn't the same as all, but point taken. Technically Samsungs foundry business isn't the same as their chip making entities, be it DRAM, flash or mobile SoCs, as they're different business unit, but still technically under the same corporate name so...
I guess Micron also has some fabs and so does Hynix and a few others, but those are very specialised and can't make general purpose SoCs for example.
It also makes the fact that GloFo is up for sale, very attractive to a lot of players.

 

[eidairaman1]

Hmm what about Hitachi, IBM?

 

[R-T-B]

Hmm what about Hitachi, IBM?

Confusing full foundries with chip designers. None of these have fabs of their own in the modern era I don't think.

I though samsung use to make chips the ... DEC alphas and SUN sparcs ... :S ....

Samsung does have fabs.

 

[Assimilator]

The writing was on the wall when GloFo decided not to do 7nm. Personally I think that company has been a losing proposition since long before AMD sold it off, and it's only been kept afloat by the extortionate payments it's had from AMD. Now that those are coming to an end it's pretty clear that GlobalFoundries doesn't really have anything that makes it a viable business going forward, hence why its owners are dumping it.

 

[hat]

The writing was on the wall when GloFo decided not to do 7nm. Personally I think that company has been a losing proposition since long before AMD sold it off, and it's only been kept afloat by the extortionate payments it's had from AMD. Now that those are coming to an end it's pretty clear that GlobalFoundries doesn't really have anything that makes it a viable business going forward, hence why its owners are dumping it.

Not necessarily. So they're not on the cutting edge, but there's plenty of things that need not be on 7nm. Evidently, they still make 600nm chips.