Taiwan GlobalWafers Proposes Increase of Siltronic Acquisition from 3.75 Billion to 4.4 Billion Euros

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Taiwan-based semiconductor wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers has proposed raising the acquisition price for German peer Siltronic, which it has agreed to acquire, Bloomberg reported on the 23rd (local time).

According to the report, GlobalWafers proposed increasing Siltronic's acquisition price from 125 euros per share (approximately 168,000 KRW) to 145 euros per share (approximately 195,000 KRW), raising the total acquisition price from the initially proposed 3.75 billion euros (about 5 trillion KRW) to 4.4 billion euros (5.9 trillion KRW). GlobalWafers explained in a statement that this proposal is final and reflects Siltronic's fair value.

This price increase comes ahead of the bid deadline on the 27th, following GlobalWafers' announcement on December 10 last year that it had agreed to acquire Siltronic. At that time, the acquisition price was around 125 euros per share, which included a 10% premium over the share price on November 27 of the same year. However, Siltronic's stock price has since risen significantly, recently surpassing 140 euros, which appears to have influenced the increase. Siltronic's board responded by welcoming the offer, stating they find the price proposal "attractive."

Siltronic is a silicon wafer manufacturer used in smartphones, computers, navigation systems, and digital displays. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, it operates production facilities in Germany, the United States, and other locations. As of 2019, its revenue was approximately 1.3 billion euros. Bloomberg reported that with the acquisition of Siltronic, GlobalWafers is expected to become the world's largest silicon wafer manufacturer by revenue, holding a market share of 32-35%.

Bloomberg stated, "This proposal, coming as companies are returning their businesses to normal after the pandemic, is one of the biggest decisions in the semiconductor industry and is expected to be GlobalWafers' largest deal to date," adding, "Competition in the industry is heating up as former customers like Apple plan to develop their own semiconductor chips and existing companies such as Nvidia venture into new areas."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.