Infineon to announce joint chip deal

Zardon · Jun 16, 2002, 07:47 AM

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies said on Friday it would make an announcement on Tuesday about a cooperation agreement with two leading chipmakers.
"Infineon and two leading firms in the semiconductor industry will announce a joint business and technology model," the company said in an statement.

It declined to provide further information about the event, other than to say leading representatives of the three companies would attend a press briefing in Munich, Germany.

Some analysts speculated that Infineon would announce some kind of research and development agreement, similar to a joint research project between Motorola, Philips and STMicroelectronics on June 6, to get next-generation microchips developed in larger quantities and at lower cost.

"Most companies prefer to cooperate at the basic technology level," said Malcolm Penn, an analyst at independent research firm Future Horizons in Sevenoaks, Britain. "It makes sense as they can share costs and do their own thing."

Penn said he could imagine a generic research and development technology agreement, with IBM or Toshiba, already long-term partners of Infineon.

An analyst at a major U.K.-based bank said it might be a formal announcement of a cooperation with Taiwan's Nanya Technologies. The two signed a preliminary agreement in May to build a next-generation memory chip plant in Taiwan, but it has not been sealed.

Some said this could be too low-key to warrant a news conference.

Infineon has already signed separate deals with Taiwan's Winbond Electronics and Mosel Vitelic.

A Frankfurt-based analyst suggested Infineon might want to expand existing agreements with Taiwan foundry United Microelectronics Corp (UMC).

In January 2000, Infineon concluded a development agreement with UMC and IBM to develop common process technologies for building logic chips with structures of between 0.13 micron and 0.10 micron. In March 2001, it entered into a joint venture with UMC to construct and operate a semiconductor facility.

Others said a new UMC agreement would be more unlikely as Infineon would not be looking for extra capacity at the moment amid pressure on prices.

by Reuteurs

Jun 16, 2002, 07:47 AM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Infineon to announce joint chip deal German chipmaker Infineon Technologies said on Friday it would make an announcement on Tuesday about a cooperation agreement with two leading chipmakers. "Infineon and two leading firms in the semiconductor industry will announce a joint business and technology model," the company said in an statement. It declined to provide further information about the event, other than to say leading representatives of the three companies would attend a press briefing in Munich, Germany. Some analysts speculated that Infineon would announce some kind of research and development agreement, similar to a joint research project between Motorola, Philips and STMicroelectronics on June 6, to get next-generation microchips developed in larger quantities and at lower cost. "Most companies prefer to cooperate at the basic technology level," said Malcolm Penn, an analyst at independent research firm Future Horizons in Sevenoaks, Britain. "It makes sense as they can share costs and do their own thing." Penn said he could imagine a generic research and development technology agreement, with IBM or Toshiba, already long-term partners of Infineon. An analyst at a major U.K.-based bank said it might be a formal announcement of a cooperation with Taiwan's Nanya Technologies. The two signed a preliminary agreement in May to build a next-generation memory chip plant in Taiwan, but it has not been sealed. Some said this could be too low-key to warrant a news conference. Infineon has already signed separate deals with Taiwan's Winbond Electronics and Mosel Vitelic. A Frankfurt-based analyst suggested Infineon might want to expand existing agreements with Taiwan foundry United Microelectronics Corp (UMC). In January 2000, Infineon concluded a development agreement with UMC and IBM to develop common process technologies for building logic chips with structures of between 0.13 micron and 0.10 micron. In March 2001, it entered into a joint venture with UMC to construct and operate a semiconductor facility. Others said a new UMC agreement would be more unlikely as Infineon would not be looking for extra capacity at the moment amid pressure on prices. by Reuteurs