According
to a report released by Southwest Union Equity Exchange, Cension, an eight-inch
wafer fab located in Chengdu, China, is expected to be sold to TI (Texas
Instruments) for US$175 million, Sina Technology News reported on July 27,
2010. Cension is currently run by Chinese chipmaker SMIC (Semiconductor
Manufacturing International Corporation) for the Chengdu local government. It
is reported that formal deal will be signed in mid-August between the two
companies, and transfer of the plant will be completed before the end of
October 2010. When the deal is finalized, this eight-inch wafer plant is expected
to become TI's first fab in China.
It
is reported that the terms of the deal include that the plant has to remain in
the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, and the buyer must retain at
least 90% of the employees currently working in the plant.