TAIPEI/TOKYO -- Taiwan's GlobalWafers is looking to take on Japanese giants and fend off Chinese up-and-comers by becoming the world's third-largest silicon wafer manufacturer through the acquisition of an American rival.
The sixth-ranked producer of the semiconductor base material will pay $683 million for SunEdison Semiconductor, currently No. 4, under a deal announced Thursday. This will let GlobalWafers close in on such powerful Japanese companies as Shin-Etsu Chemical and Sumco, the market's two top players, CEO Doris Hsu told a news conference in Taipei.
