According to reports, due to strong demand for 200mm foundry, UMC intends to expand its operating scale and spend less than NT$10 billion to acquire Toshiba's Fab1 and Fab2 200mm fabs.

In fact, on September 30, Toshiba was reported to withdraw from the LSI chip business, which made UMC's acquisition of Toshiba more credible.

The report pointed out that the recent global demand for 200mm wafer foundry capacity is in short supply. If UMC successfully acquires Toshiba's 200mm factory, it will contribute to UMC's revenue.

In September last year, UMC acquired the entire equity of MIFS, a 300mm wafer fab, a joint venture between the company and Fujitsu Semiconductor (FSL), for 54.4 billion yen, and expanded its 300mm foundry capacity. If UMC can successfully acquire Toshiba's 200mm plant, it will once again expand UMC's layout in Japan.

Benefiting from the global commercialization of 5G, the demand for key components such as display panel driver ICs and power management chips, which are mainly produced in 200mm fabs, has increased. However, because no new 200mm wafer fabs have been built in the past few years, the global 200mm foundry capacity has been in short supply. At present, the production capacity of UMC and VIS is in short supply, and there are reports of price increases.

Regarding the report, UMC stated that it would not respond to market rumors, but emphasized that it is open to mergers and acquisitions.