Buyer SkyWater Technology Foundry to continue producing wafers for Cypress and other semiconductor manufacturers; Transaction keeps semiconductor manufacturing in the USA
Seattle, Wash., March 2, 2017 – ATREG, Inc., which specializes in helping global companies divest and acquire infrastructure-rich advanced technology cleanroom assets, announced today that it has successfully advised Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq: CY) on the sale of the subsidiary that owns its operational 200mm semiconductor manufacturing facility based in Bloomington, Minn., USA. Under the terms of the agreement, SkyWater Technology Foundry, backed by Minn.-based holding company Oxbow Industries, LLC, purchased the capital stock of the subsidiary to operate the fab as a stand-alone specialized foundry. The company will continue to manufacture wafers for Cypress under a multi-year supply agreement while attracting new foundry customers. The transaction allows Cypress to reduce its manufacturing footprint and cost structure while increasing the utilization of its Fab 25 located in Austin, Texas, in line with the company’s plan to improve gross margins.
Given the fab’s proven history of efficiency, the expertise and dedication of its workforce, and its established success in delivering specialized wafers on time to a diverse customer base, SkyWater Technology Foundry sees a strong foundation for a stand-alone business and is committed to continuing the fab’s support of Cypress and its customers with superior quality and on-time delivery.
“Selling our Minn. fab supports the continued execution on our gross margin improvement plan while ensuring an uninterrupted wafer supply to our current customers. It also gives our Minnesota employees the opportunity to help the new business flourish and continue the fab’s tradition of quality U.S. manufacturing,” explains Joe Rauschmayer, executive vice president of manufacturing for Cypress. “ATREG was valuable in all phases of the transaction. Their deep semiconductor market knowledge combined with their long-standing executive industry relationships have really made a positive difference in how our disposition was structured.”
“We are pleased that Cypress chose to leverage our 16-year fab divestment experience to structure a beneficial transaction for all parties,” adds Stephen Rothrock, founder and CEO of ATREG. “We are seeing renewed interest in 200mm production assets. This is consistent with the gradual increase of installed 200mm capacity globally since 2009 with demand coming from discrete, power, MEMS, analog, logic, and other device segments requiring mature process technology – particularly at 90nm, 130nm, and 180nm. Given the lack of 200mm equipment in the secondary market, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and foundries are acquiring operational 200mm fabs to satisfy growing 200mm production needs.”
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About ATREG, Inc.
Headquartered in Seattle, USA, ATREG, Inc. specializes in helping companies divest and acquire infrastructure-rich advanced technology manufacturing assets, including front-end and back-end semiconductor fabs, cleanroom facilities, and technology campuses in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, please visit us online at www.atreg.com, read our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Cypress
Founded in 1982, Cypress is the leader in advanced embedded system solutions for the world’s most innovative automotive, industrial, home automation and appliances, consumer electronics, and medical products. Cypress’ programmable systems-on-chip, general-purpose microcontrollers, analog ICs, wireless and USB-based connectivity solutions and reliable, high-performance memories help engineers design differentiated products and get them to market first. Cypress is committed to providing customers with the best support and engineering resources on the planet, enabling innovators and out-of-the-box thinkers to disrupt markets and create new product categories in record time. For more information, please visit us online at www.cypress.com.