
Maxim is an analog and mixed-signal chip company that is believed to be in talks with Analog Devices Inc. about a possible takeover bid. There has also been a report that Maxim has been approached by Texas Instruments (see Report: Analog Devices, Maxim in merger talks).
Tower has been a manufacturer of silicon-germanium products for Maxim for a number of years and the acquisition of the wafer fab includes a long-term agreement to supply Maxim from the facility. All of the site’s 500 employee will be retained. The facility is capable of advanced analog platforms down to 130nm and Tower, which trades as TowerJazz, plans to also install its radio frequency silicon-on-insulator (RF-SOI).
"The multi-year supply agreement with Maxim and the new available capacity will enable continuous growth with increased manufacturing scale to support our position as the worldwide leading specialty analog foundry," said Itzhak Edrei, president of Tower Semiconductor.
"With this arrangement, we will continue to support our customers for years to come, improve utilization in our Oregon fab, and advance our manufacturing flexibility," said Vivek Jain, senior vice president of Maxim Integrated’s technology and manufacturing group.
The deal is expected to close in January 2016.
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