“The Foundry Company” to build new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Upstate New York, creating more than 1,400 jobs, and to expand existing manufacturing facility in Dresden.
IBM welcomes The Foundry Company into the IBM Alliance.
AMD [NYSE: AMD] and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) of Abu Dhabi today announced the creation of a U.S.-headquartered, leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing company to address growing demand for independent, leading-edge foundry production capabilities. The new global company, to be temporarily called “The Foundry Company”, will serve this need by combining advanced process technology, industry-leading manufacturing facilities and aggressive plans to expand its global capacity footprint. At the same time, the Mubadala Development Company will increase its current investment in AMD to 19.3 percent on a fully diluted basis.
AMD will contribute to The Foundry Company its manufacturing facilities, including two fabrication facilities in Dresden, Germany, as well as related assets and intellectual property rights. ATIC will invest $2.1 billion to purchase its stake in The Foundry Company, of which it will invest $1.4 billion directly in the new entity and the remainder will be paid to AMD to purchase additional shares in The Foundry Company. The Foundry Company will also assume approximately $1.2 billion of AMD’s existing debt.
ATIC has committed additional equity funding to The Foundry Company of a minimum of $3.6 billion and up to $6.0 billion over the next five years to fund the expansion of The Foundry Company’s chip-making capacity beyond the manufacturing facilities initially contributed by AMD. These funds will be used by The Foundry Company to (i) proceed with capacity expansion at its fabs in Dresden, Germany, including an upgrade of one of its fabs to a state-of-the-art facility, and (ii) begin construction on a new state-of-the-art facility in Saratoga County, New York, subject to the transfer of previously-approved New York State incentives. The New York facility is expected to create more than 1,400 direct jobs, and, through its operation, to generate an additional 5,000 jobs in the region. Once operational, the New York facility will be the only independently-managed, leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing foundry in the United States.
Global demand for independent foundry manufacturing is growing because leading semiconductor companies are exiting manufacturing, as the cost and complexity increases and capital and research and development costs have become too high. In addition, the world’s requirements for devices that use more advanced semiconductors continue to grow, and the IBM technology alliance, to which The Foundry Company will belong, creates an increasingly larger foundation for semiconductor innovation.
The Board of Directors of The Foundry Company will be equally divided between representatives of AMD and ATIC. AMD will own 44.4 percent and ATIC will own 55.6 percent of The Foundry Company’s fully-converted common stock upon its formation.
Doug Grose will relinquish his current role as AMD’s senior vice president of manufacturing operations to become chief executive officer of The Foundry Company. Hector Ruiz will relinquish his current role as AMD’s executive chairman and chairman of the board to become chairman of The Foundry Company. To augment its announced leadership, the new company plans an aggressive recruitment strategy to round out a world-class semiconductor manufacturing leadership team.
ATIC is an investment company formed by the government of Abu Dhabi to invest in advanced technology opportunities that require patient capital and long-term time horizons to achieve economic returns while also increasing the economic diversification of Abu Dhabi. While it enhances its capabilities specific to the transaction, ATIC will enter into a 12-month agreement with Mubadala to project manage ATIC’s interest in The Foundry Company.
As a result of the transactions, AMD will strengthen its financial position and focus on the design and development of innovative computing and graphics solutions. AMD will improve its liquidity through The Foundry Company’s assumption of approximately $1.2 billion in debt, ATIC’s $700 million payment to AMD for ownership interests in The Foundry Company and Mubadala’s $314 million paid to AMD for 58 million newly issued AMD shares and warrants for 30 million additional shares.
Mubadala, an existing 8.1 percent AMD shareholder, will increase its stake to 19.3 percent of outstanding AMD shares on a fully diluted basis. This will be accomplished through the purchase for $314 million of 58 million newly issued AMD shares and warrants for 30 million additional shares. Mubadala will also have the right to appoint a designee to AMD’s board of directors.
“Today is a landmark day for AMD, creating a financially stronger company with a tightened focus,” said Dirk Meyer, president and chief executive officer of AMD. “With The Foundry Company, AMD has developed an innovative way to focus our efforts on design while maintaining access to the leading-edge manufacturing technologies that our business needs without the required capital-intensive investments of semiconductor manufacturing. I particularly want to congratulate our Chairman Hector Ruiz, whose vision and leadership of our Asset Smart strategy is fulfilled today.”
“We are as enthusiastic about AMD’s potential today as we were when we made our initial investment last year,” said Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chief executive officer and managing director of Mubadala. “This increased investment is a strong vote of confidence in AMD’s Asset Smart business strategy, evolved leadership team, and best-in-class technology.”
“ATIC and AMD are the ideal partners with which to create The Foundry Company,” said Hector Ruiz, chairman of AMD’s board of directors, who will become chairman of The Foundry Company. “Working together allows us to combine ATIC’s long-term vision and patient capital with our manufacturing leadership, innovation and highly-skilled workforce. Moreover, The Foundry Company’s presence in Upstate New York alongside IBM and other research leaders will cement the region’s position as one of the world’s premier centers of nanotechnology development.”
ATIC Chairman Waleed Al Mokarrab said, “More than a year in the making, today’s announcement significantly reshapes the global semiconductor industry – it is an investment where all parties see significant opportunity. Independent and well-capitalized, The Foundry Company begins day one with an established leading-edge customer, an advanced technology roadmap, an R&D partnership with IBM, and a clear plan to scale capacity, providing it the foundation to become a clear leader in global semiconductor manufacturing.”
“The creation of The Foundry Company represents a critical milestone in the evolution of the semiconductor industry,” said Doug Grose, who will be the CEO of The Foundry Company. “Companies are eager for choice in the supply of leading-edge manufacturing capacity, and our new venture is answering that call. By combining operational excellence, leading-edge technology developed in collaboration with IBM, and an aggressive capacity roadmap, The Foundry Company aspires to drive the next round of innovation in this industry.”
The Foundry Company will join the IBM joint development alliance for both silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and bulk silicon through the 22nm generation. The alliance consists of a group of leading semiconductor companies collaborating on next generation silicon technologies.
“We welcome The Foundry Company into the IBM alliance and are pleased to see the company investing in New York,” said Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and director of Research at IBM. “The Foundry Company’s membership in the alliance brings new intellectual capital to our collaborative effort and continues to build on the momentum and leadership that the alliance has established in semiconductor technologies.”
Upon closing of the transaction, The Foundry Company will commence operations with approximately 3,000 employees who will transition into the new company from AMD facilities in Silicon Valley, New York, Dresden, and Austin. The new company’s principal headquarters will be in Silicon Valley and its research and development and manufacturing leadership teams and ecosystems will be based in New York, Dresden, and Austin. After the upgrade and expansion in Dresden and the build-out of the New York facility, The Foundry Company envisions expanding its global manufacturing footprint over time, if commercially justified, to also include new fabrication facilities in Abu Dhabi.
The transaction is expected to close at the beginning of 2009 following satisfaction of conditions such as approvals from regulators, transfer of previously-confirmed New York incentives to The Foundry Company, and the approval of AMD stockholders for the issuance of common stock and warrants to Mubadala. Prior to closing, AMD, ATIC and Mubadala will file a joint voluntary notice of the transaction for review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government inter-agency committee chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Upon closing, The Foundry Company will:
Upon closing, AMD will:
Upon closing, ATIC will:
Upon closing, Mubadala will:
For more information on the announcement, visit http://www.amd.com/NewGlobalFoundry
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