Advanced semiconductor manufacturing is one of the world’s top technologies. There are only three companies, Intel, TSMC and Samsung, who have ability to produce 10nm and below process. Globalfoundries(GF for short) and UMC are two companies procuce 14/12nm products. SMIC in China just begin to get into 14/12nm technology without mass production. TSMC is leader in wafer foundry market who is most profitable, while others manufacturers are far behind in sales and profits, of whom those having poor performance may sell itself. GF is reported to ask for acquisitions, whose parent company ATIC is going to quit semiconductor manufacturing. It should be a chance for China, however, it is hopoless for Chinese company, SMIC for example, to purchase it due to policy restriction from the US, so Samsung may be its new owner.

GF’s predecessor is wafer manufacturing business of AMD. AMD was devided into semiconductor design and manufacturing business, of which the latter together with ATIC of a big oil company, Mubadala Development in the Middle East, formed Globalfoundries as a joint venture. AMD constantly sold GF’s share, finally, GF has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATIC. GF purchased IBM’s wafer manufacturing business in 2015, which has five 8-inch fabs and five 12-inch fabs covering from 350nm to 12nm process in America, Germany, Singapore and China.

According to IC Insights’s data GF is the second generation of global pure wafer foundry(as Samsung is not pure wafer foundry, if it is included GF will rank the third). Its annual revenue of 2017 is about $6 billion when TSMC is the top one with $32.2 billion revenue.

It is widespread in wafer foundry that winner takes all. Companies with more advanced technologies always get more orders, which contributes to more investment in developing the next generation technology. Excepet for TSMC and well-connected Samsung, other foundries are in a tough time. GF has been through a pefiod with profit and loss in last two years, which is the reason of it quitting 7nm process development and production.

GF still struggles in 2019, whose Fab 3E in Singapore is sold recently. It only sells for a cheap price less than $240 million, which has a 35 thousand 8-inch wafers capacity per month. The deal is a part of strategy to integrate global manufacturing said by GF CEO, Tom Caulfield. GF will focus on clear differentiation technologies in the future, such as RF, embedded memory and analog chip.

However, selling wafer fab is still captured by the outside world as more sensitive signals. Besides selling fab in Singapore, the fab built in Chengdu with $10 billion investment doesn’t go well either. The fisrst phase of 180/130nm mature technology has been cancled, then enter the second phase of 22FDX technology while there are problems occuring during the Spring Festival.  

Accroding to digitimes news quoted by Korean, GF will be sold by ATIC. It is not the first time for selling GF when there will be similar news every once in a while. Mubadala Development revealed it would adjust investment orientation earlier rather than focused on semiconductor. The problem is who will teke over GF. As there are several semiconductor foundries all around the world, richest TSMC is hopeless to purchase it. Other investment funds are also not willing to get into semiconductor because this field costs too much without large returns.

Mainland of China is taking semiconductor manufacturing seriously, so GF and Chinese companies are complementary. However, Chinese companies are unable to purchase GF even it belongs to a group from Abu Dhabi, because it is impossilbe to censorship of America, according to Korean media.

Samsung is most possible to purchase GF said by Businesskorea, because its foundry share will be up to 23% as soon as it having GF. Although it can’t catch up with TSMC immediately, it will be greatly strengthened.

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