Intel to Acquire Israeli Firm for €4.7b

Intel and Tower Semiconductor, a foundry for analog semiconductor solutions, have entered into a definitive agreement under which Intel will acquire Tower for a total enterprise value of approximately €4.7 billion.

Tower offers expertise in speciality technologies, such as radio frequency (RF), power, silicon-germanium (SiGe) and industrial sensors, IP and electronic design automation (EDA) partnerships, and an established foundry footprint. With this base, Tower serves high-growth markets such as mobile, automotive and power and operates foundries in the US and Asia.

“Tower’s speciality technology portfolio, geographic reach, deep customer relationships and services-first operations will help scale Intel’s foundry services and advance our goal of becoming a major provider of foundry capacity globally”, said Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO. “This deal will enable Intel to offer a compelling breadth of leading-edge nodes and differentiated speciality technologies on mature nodes – unlocking new opportunities for existing and future customers in an era of unprecedented demand for semiconductors”.

As a key part of its IDM 2.0 strategy, Intel established Intel Foundry Services (IFS) in March 2021 to help meet the growing global demand for semiconductor manufacturing capacity and to become a major provider of US and Europe-based foundry capacity. IFS currently offers process and packaging technology, committed capacity in the US and Europe and other geographies in the future, and an intellectual property (IP) portfolio.

“With a rich history, Tower has built an incredible range of speciality analog foundry solutions based upon deep customer partnerships, with worldwide manufacturing capabilities. I could not be prouder of the company and of our talented and dedicated employees”, said Russell Ellwanger, Tower CEO.

“Together with Intel, we will drive new and meaningful growth opportunities and offer even greater value to our customers through a full suite of technology solutions and nodes and a greatly expanded global manufacturing footprint. We look forward to being an integral part of Intel’s foundry offering”.

Intel is the only major firm with both research and development and manufacturing in the US, including recently announced capacity expansions in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as plans to build a new mega-site in Ohio. The company states that Tower’s technology and manufacturing footprint is “highly complementary” to Intel’s IFS capabilities in leading-edge processes, allowing the combined company to provide “broader offerings to customers at scale”.

The transaction is expected to close in approximately 12 months, with IFS and Tower Semiconductor continuing to run independently until the deal closes.

You can find more information about Intel and its €4.7 billion acquisition of Tower Semiconductor on its website.

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