Peter Clarke EE Times (12/09/2009 5:00 AM EST)

LONDON — Foundry chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Hsinchu, Taiwan) has said it will pay NT$6.2 billion (about $192 million) for a 20 percent stake in Motech Industries Inc. (Tainan, Taiwan).

Motech is the largest solar cell manufacturer in Taiwan and was one of the top ten manufacturers worldwide in terms of production capacity and output in 2008.

The move is in-line with TSMC's previously announced intention to extend its operations into solar power and LED manufacturing.

The acquisition is being done through a private placement of 75.32 million new Motech shares that TSMC will buy for NT$82.7 per share. The transaction is subject to Motech's shareholders' approval and regulatory approval.

With manufacturing facilities in Taiwan and China, Motech pursues a vertical integration strategy and has in-house ingot and wafer capabilities and a majority investment in polysilicon production via advanced fluidized bed reactor technology. In addition, Motech is also Taiwan's leading provider of photovoltaic systems and photovoltaic inverters.

Rick Tsai, president of TSMC New Businesses, said, "We are delighted to partner with Motech in our pursuit of new opportunities in the high-growth solar sector. With the investment, TSMC intends to leverage Motech's established platform to accelerate our time to market, better evaluate opportunities along the solar value chain, and further formulate our overall solar strategy."

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