Rumor mill: TSMC approached to buy Chartered

Mark LaPedus
EE Times
(10/29/2008 2:32 H EDT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- There are rumors that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) has been approached to acquire all or part of Singaporean foundry rival Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd.

''TSMC, the world's top contract chip maker, said on Monday it had no comment on market speculation that Singapore's Temasek Holdings had approached TSMC to sell its stake in Chartered Semiconductor,'' according to a report from Reuters.

Singapore's Temasek Holdings is a major shareholder in Chartered. In the report, TSMC declined to comment. The complete article can be read here.

Silicon foundries, including Chartered, TSMC and UMC, are experiencing a significant decline in wafer starts that is likely to result in sub-75 percent capacity utilization rates in the fourth quarter, according to Steven Pelayo, an analyst with HSBC Global Technology Research in Hong Kong.