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Tsinghua Unigroup to Invest $2 Billion in Taiwan Chip Packaging Companies
Tsinghua Unigroup Limited will buy shares of two Taiwanese semiconductor packaging and testing companies—ChipMOS Technologies Inc. and Siliconware Precision Industries Limited (SPIL)—for $2 billion announced by the two companies on Friday. Tsinghua will own a quarter of each company’s shares once the deal is signed off on by both shareholders and Taiwanese regulators.
Tsinghua will spend $1.7 billion for nearly 25 percent of SPIL’s shares at a premium price of 55 New Taiwan dollars ($1.68), almost 21 percent higher than SPIL’s closing price last Friday. Tsinghua will pay about $37 million for a quarter shares of ChipMOS. Tsinghua will follow Taiwan regulations that restrict Chinese investment to non-controlling stakes in Taiwan semiconductor firms and will supply an industry cooperation plan to Taiwan regulators.
Tsinghua will own 1.033 billion new SPIL shares, reducing the percentage of share Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE) currently holds in SPIL. ASE offered to buy the rest of SPIL for $3.9 billion after the Tsinghua offer. Tsinghua’s deal with SPIL would likely gain shareholder approval due to its premium value. SPIL shareholders had rejected a pervious share-swap deal with Foxconn Technology Co. due to low valuation.
