Intel agreed to sell an approximately 10% stake in the IMS Nanofabrication business to TSMC.
TSMC’s investment values IMS at approximately $4.3 billion, consistent with the valuation of the recent stake sale to Bain Capital Special Situations.
Intel will retain majority ownership of IMS, which will continue to operate as a standalone subsidiary under the leadership of CEO Dr. Elmar Platzgummer. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Intel said Bain Capital’s and TSMC’s investments provide IMS with increased independence and reinforce confidence in the significant opportunity ahead of IMS. This added autonomy will help IMS accelerate its growth and drive the next phase of lithography technology innovation to enable the industry’s transition into new patterning systems, such as high-numerical-aperture (high-NA) EUV.
IMS specializes in multi-beam mask writing tools required to develop advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), which is broadly adopted in leading-edge technology nodes that enable the most demanding computing applications, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile.
Matt Poirier, senior vice president of Corporate Development at Intel, said, “This investment demonstrates the deep industry collaboration IMS is pioneering to advance critical lithography technology for leading-edge nodes, which will benefit the entire semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. With enhanced independence, IMS will be well positioned to address the significant growth opportunity for multi-beam mask writing tools over the next decade and beyond.”
