Nuvoton Technology Corp’s announcement yesterday that it is buying Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co Ltd (PSCS) marks the end of Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corp’s involvement in the semiconductor business.

The Hsinchu-based microcontrollers maker said it would pay US$250 million in an all-cash deal for Kyoto, Japan-based PSCS, which supplies semiconductor devices and solutions with products that focus on sensing, microcontroller and component technologies.

The deal is expected to close by June next year and obtain approvals from both national and regional regulators, it said.

Nuvoton, which is a subsidiary of memorychip maker Winbond Electronics Corp, said the acquisition of PSCS would generate greater value for the customers and shareholders of both companies, while increasing its presence in the global semiconductor industry through greater scale and volume of semiconductor solutions.

“We believe it would broaden the company’s distribution channels and customer base by exploiting PSCS’ abundant resources in research and development, as well as its large pool of talent,” Nuvoton spokeswoman Jessica Huang told a news conference in Taipei.

There are no plans to cut jobs and Nuvoton would integrate PSCS’ more than 2,000 employees, she said.

Nuvoton would also obtain the operating assets of Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions (Suzhou) Co Ltd, such as semiconductor equipment and warehouses; Panasonic Industrial Devices Semiconductor Asia’s assets, liabilities, contracts and other operating assets; and a 49 percent stake in TowerJazz Panasonic Semiconductor Co Ltd, a joint venture between Panasonic and Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd.

PSCS booked an operating loss of ?23.5 billion (US$214.5 million) for the fiscal year that ended in March, the Nikkei reported.

Nuvoton, with a paid-in capital of NT$2.88 billion (US$94.41million), reported net profit of NT$390.14 million in the first three quarters of this year on revenue of NT$7.58 billion.

Kadoma City, Japan-based Panasonic’s move to sell its semiconductor unit to Nuvoton came after it revealed a three-year-plan to exit the semiconductor business earlier this year.

It has faced rising competition in the semiconductor business from Taiwanese and South Korean rivals, which has been aggravated by a US-China trade spat.

Panasonic sold part of PSCS’ diode and transistor business to Kyoto, Japan-based Rohm Semiconductor Co Ltd in April.

Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga earlier this month said the company would “eradicate” all continuously loss-making businesses by the fiscal year that ends in March 2022, including the production of LCD panels by 2021, while focusing on sectors such as batteries and other auto equipment, the Japan Times reported.

By: DocMemory
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