Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), Wistron Corp (緯創) affiliate Wiwynn Corp (緯穎) and US company Jabil Inc are set to submit revised offers for Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s (AMD) artificial intelligence (AI) server assembly plants, people familiar with the matter said.
Inventec Corp (英業達) and Pegatron Corp (和碩), which Bloomberg News previously reported were also interested in the assets, have since dropped out of the bidding, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
AMD, which is working with an adviser, has called for refreshed bids to be submitted in the coming days, the people said.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
The US firm is aiming to wrap up the sale by the end of the second quarter, in a deal that could be valued at US$3 billion to US$4 billion, Bloomberg News has reported.
The sale of the US manufacturing assets, which are based in Texas and New Jersey, come at a time when many Taiwanese electronics companies are rushing to build in the US to avoid current or future tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Bidders view the plants as valuable, because they come with 1,500, skilled employees, one of the people said.
AMD inherited the plants through its US$4.9 billion acquisition of ZT Systems, a deal that closed at the end of March. AMD last year said it would offload the manufacturing business to avoid competing with its customers, such as Dell Technologies Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
The deliberations are ongoing and there is no certainty that AMD would reach a deal.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kunjan Sobhani and Oscar Hernandez Tejada estimated previously that the manufacturing division could sell for US$1.5 billion to US$3 billion.
The server manufacturing operations had revenue of about US$10 billion during the 12 months prior to AMD’s purchase.
For potential buyers, it is a chance to grab facilities used to make servers that are at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom.
Taiwanese firms, including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), rely on Mexico as a key AI server assembly and parts production hub. Since Trump’s win in November, Hon Hai has secured land in the US and last month said it would announce more investments in the US.
The board of its Taiwanese peer, Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), approved a US$230 million capital increase for its US unit.
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
RSS