IBM pays Globalfoundries 1.5 billion to take its fabs.

mrmt

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Aug 18, 2012
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GLF gets another WSA, but a 10 years one this time. This will be the most expensive 1.5 billion deal of IBM history.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...lfoundries-1-5-billion-to-take-chip-unit.html


International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) agreed to pay Globalfoundries Inc. $1.5 billion to take an unprofitable chip-manufacturing unit off its hands, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

IBM will also receive $200 million worth of assets, making the net value of the deal $1.3 billion, said the people who asked not to be identified because the agreement is private. The companies plan to announce the deal tomorrow morning, the people said. IBM put out a statement today saying it planned to make a “major business announcement” tomorrow.

After months of on-again, off-again talks, IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty finally struck a deal to jettison the chipmaking unit, which has been a drag on earnings. Globalfoundries, owned by an investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi, is taking on the unit to tap the expertise of its engineers in the fundamentals of semiconductor design and manufacturing.

In a 10-year partnership, Globalfoundries will supply IBM with Power processors in exchange for access to IBM’s intellectual property, the people said. That would allow Globalfoundries to access key chipmaking technology and guarantee supply of chips that IBM needs for its systems, like mainframe computers and its Watson data-analytics technology.


Photographer: Drew Angerer/Bloomberg
After months of on-again, off-again talks, IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty... Read More
IBM will pay Globalfoundries the $1.5 billion over three years, the people said.

Globalfoundries spokesman Kevin Kimball declined to comment. James Sciales, a spokesman for IBM, didn’t return a phone call or e-mail requesting comment.

Earnings Announcement

In today’s statement, IBM also said it planned to announce third-quarter results tomorrow at 7 a.m. New York time, instead of after U.S. markets close as planned. The company will host a conference call at 8 a.m. New York time.

Analysts expect IBM to report that third-quarter earnings, excluding some items, rose to $4.32 a share, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s with revenue projected to fall for a 10th straight quarter, according to the average of analysts’ estimates.

The results are important as Rometty tries to reach a target of $18 a share in adjusted earnings this year, even as the company tries to keep up with a shift across the industry to cloud computing. It’s all part of a five-year plan to bolster profit by 2015.

IBM’s semiconductors, which include the PowerPC lineup, have been used in personal computers, game machines and other equipment. Still, Intel Corp.’s dominance in the processor market has left Armonk, New York-based IBM with less of a role in the chip industry.

Deal Talks

Manufacturing microelectronics accounts for less than 2 percent of IBM’s revenue. Meanwhile, the division loses as much as $1.5 billion a year, a person familiar with the matter said in June.

The company is already part of an alliance with Globalfoundries, created in a spinoff of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s production facilities in 2009, to develop chip-production technology. IBM had been seeking a buyer for its chipmaking division since at least 2013, a person with knowledge of the unit said in February. Earlier this year, the company was focused on finding a joint-venture partner after failing to attract an acquirer, two people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Then, IBM was willing to pay $1 billion to persuade Globalfoundries to take the unit, a person familiar with the process said in August, underscoring the urgency for Rometty to get the division off the books. That was too low for Globalfoundries, which wanted about $2 billion to offset the unit’s losses, the person said.

Intellectual Property

Throughout the talks, Globalfoundries has been primarily interested in acquiring IBM’s engineers and intellectual property, rather than the manufacturing facilities, people with knowledge of the matter said in June. As the industry pushes the limits of material science in producing devices that have some dimensions as small as one atom thick, that know-how is becoming more important.

Even as IBM wants to exit the chip manufacturing business, the company is still investing in semiconductors. IBM wants to maintain control of the design and intellectual property of the chips it uses, a person familiar with the matter said in February. The company plans to spend $3 billion on semiconductor research and development in the next five years.
 

NostaSeronx

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Sep 18, 2011
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I wonder how fast this will allow for GlobalFoundries to HVM its Hybrid FinFET/Planar ETSOI process.

Both WSAs are till 2024?
What does this mean for EUV?
What does this mean for 450mm/18-inch wafers?
 
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Idontcare

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The question everyone wants answered is "does GloFo get the R&D team, supporting development facilities, and associated IP as needed for GloFo to internally and independently develop future process nodes"?

(and if the answer is yes, then what does this mean for the rest of the fab-club members going forward?)
 

NostaSeronx

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Sep 18, 2011
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Isn't the fab club pretty much dead at this point?
IBM wasn't largely participating in it.

Samsung brought FinFETs and STMicroelectronics brought FD-SOI. With IBM doing this it just means SOI is more prevalent at GlobalFoundries now.

Samsung and GlobalFoundries will stick together because it was a multi-year agreement. STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries are tied together by pilot and production. STM needs GlobalFoundries, and now IBM needs GlobalFoundries. Two SOI dependents, means more SOI.

SOITEC is going to be very happy with this. Since, IBM has been slowly decreasing in SOI wafer purchases. While with GlobalFoundries, it was an abrupt halt when they stopped doing PD-SOI.

FD-2D wafers for STM/Samsung/GlobalFoundries(28-nm/14-nm/10-nm).
FD-3D wafers for GlobalFoundries(14-nm SOI FinFETs), and Samsung/GlobalFoundries(10-nm SOI FinFETs).

Rather than IBM, GlobalFoundries is the hub of nodes.
 
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GreenChile

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I thought this was a done deal months ago. Must have misread or something.

You know you've run your business into the ground when you have to pay someone to take it off your hands. I've never heard of such a thing. Pathetic IBM. You've really lost your mojo.
 

NostaSeronx

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Sep 18, 2011
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I thought this was a done deal months ago. Must have misread or something.
The hypothetical deal was done, but not the actual terms of the deal.
You know you've run your business into the ground when you have to pay someone to take it off your hands. I've never heard of such a thing. Pathetic IBM. You've really lost your mojo.
It's not that IBM has lost its mojo. It's more like everything bad that could happen has happened.

- No EUVL
- No 450mm
- etc
 

ShintaiDK

Lifer
Apr 22, 2012
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Not surprising considering IBMs lack of progress. The dinosaur syndrome.

They also just posted a 17% drop in revenue.

It also raises the question about who is the next company to throw in the towel in the foundry chair dancing game.
 

Jimzz

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Oct 23, 2012
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Yea the talks have been on going for a while. My inside friend does not know where he stands right now. He is in chip design but not directly with the foundries.

The e-mail he and others got is vague like the release on who stays and who goes outside the foundries themselves.

Most knew IBM was going to do something as they hold all the years 401k match till the end of the year so if they dump you before then you get no 401k match from them for the year.
 

NTMBK

Lifer
Nov 14, 2011
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What does this mean for UMC? Weren't they planning on using IBM tech for 20nm?
 

III-V

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Azuma Hazuki

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So does this mean AMD will benefit at all? I was hoping to see Carizzo/Basilisk on 20nm or 14nm FD-SoI...
 

NostaSeronx

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Sep 18, 2011
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What does this mean for UMC? Weren't they planning on using IBM tech for 20nm?
UMC is partnered up with Su Volta to use DDC transistors.

28-nm HKMG/DDC -> 14-nm FinFETs -> 10-nm FinFETs

UMC already purchased the license for bulk FinFET and it will be kept. Even if and when IBM sells off its foundry.
So does this mean AMD will benefit at all? I was hoping to see Carizzo/Basilisk on 20nm or 14nm FD-SoI...
Well 28-nm FD-SOI started ramping up at GlobalFoundries in Q3 2014. With 14-nm FD-SOI starting to ramp up now in Q4 2014.

We should be seeing designs if AMD is on FD-SOI, any where between January to April. Any tapeouts would have happened anywhere between Q2 2013 to Q3 2014.
 
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Ajay

Lifer
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We should be seeing designs if AMD is on FD-SOI, any where between January to April. Any tapeouts would have happened anywhere between Q2 2013 to Q3 2014.

OK, a bit OT, but...

The pressing questions are: did any AMD products tapeout on 28nm SOI? and is GFs 28nm SOI an SHP process or LP or somewhere in between?

I think IDK mentioned somewhere that most SOI efforts are geared toward low power right now. That's all well an good for, say, the the low end notebook market - but it won't do anything for Carrizo in desktops for AIOs. If AMD can't stop the bleeding in it's Computing sector - they will be forced to drop it and concentrate on other sectors.
 

PingSpike

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Feb 25, 2004
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So the rumors about the plant around here is that IBM basically poisoned the land underneath them in the 60s and 70s and if they just closed up shop on the plant they would actually have to deal with the disaster. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but its certainly a popular rumor I've heard a number of times. I suspect its an exaggeration of a truth though.
 

lefty2

Senior member
May 15, 2013
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It's interesting what EETimes say about it:
The biggest hurdles likely will be getting approval from as many as 200 regulators around the world, especially in the US. IBM’s ASIC and systems customers include US defense contractors, government agencies, and national labs for which it supplies supercomputers that monitor the US nuclear stockpile.
GlobalFoundries is primarily owned by an investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi. That triggers a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which could reject or impose conditions on aspects of the deal, and triggers a review from the White House.
 

NostaSeronx

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Sep 18, 2011
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did any AMD products tapeout on 28nm SOI?
There has been some mentions of 28-nm SOI at AMD profiles. AMD has also acquired a few SOITEC/STM FD-SOI personal for embedded in europe.

Back to the profiles;
John -
Currently working on x86 architecture product development using 28nm SOI and bulk technologies.
Paras -
Worked with high speed circuits > 4GHz in 28nm with both SOI and bulk technologies.
Victor -
Design,technology and foundry teams liaison in the incorporation of design rules pertaining to the memory arrays and bit-cell transistor components, for many generations of SOI/bulk CMOS processes technologies leading up to 28nm geometries.
and is GFs 28nm SOI an SHP process or LP or somewhere in between?
GlobalFoundries is calling their UTBB FDSOI process from STMicroelectronics; ET-SOI.

It has the cost of a Low Power/Mainstream process, but the performance of a High Performance/Niche process. So, it is in between, while mostly aiming at mainstream.

There is also two 28-nm FD-SOI nodes;
- Gen 1 which has no source/drain strain engineering.
- Gen 2 which has source/drain strain engineering.

Compared to 28-nm Poly-Si @ GF;
- Gen 1 is 10% more cost, 30% more performance
- Gen 2 is ~18% more cost, ~45% more performance
- HPP is 30% more cost, 30% more performance.

If Gen 1 could have gone volume in 2012/2013. It pretty much hints that GF was waiting for Gen 2/14-nm for 2014/2015.
I think IDC mentioned somewhere that most SOI efforts are geared toward low power right now. That's all well an good for, say, the the low end notebook market - but it won't do anything for Carrizo in desktops for AIOs. If AMD can't stop the bleeding in it's Computing sector - they will be forced to drop it and concentrate on other sectors.
FD-SOI is geared for energy efficiency and low cost, regardless of high performance or low power.

SOI allows AMD with lower cost to compete better. If Carrizo is on FD-SOI, then for AMD it will be cheaper to manufacture.

With IBM buying and creating a WSA with GlobalFoundries. The roadmap can essentially become for AMD nodes;
28-nm FD-SOI(XV) -> 14-nm FD-SOI(XV+) -> 14-nm SOI FinFETs(Zen).

If AMD uses bulk, they are just following VIA/Centuar/Cyrix and the many others to the bulk grave. Intel is the bulk king, GloFo/TSMC can't compete in the same game with Intel.
 
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Jimzz

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- Not building competitive products

That sounds illegal.

They had a helluva lot of influence, though.

Not that I am aware of. They pay ALL their 401k match in December. If you are let go or quit before then you get no match for the year.

They changed it a couple years ago and many layoffs happen a couple months to a month before that date now.

I just heard from him and he says IBM plans to keep him and some other internal for support and updates that old contracts need. So he should get his 401k match for this year.
 
Mar 10, 2006
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The question everyone wants answered is "does GloFo get the R&D team, supporting development facilities, and associated IP as needed for GloFo to internally and independently develop future process nodes"?

(and if the answer is yes, then what does this mean for the rest of the fab-club members going forward?)

Seems so.

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/45110.wss

ARMONK, N.Y., and SANTA CLARA, Calif., - 20 Oct 2014: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced that they have signed a Definitive Agreement under which GLOBALFOUNDRIES plans to acquire IBM's global commercial semiconductor technology business, including intellectual property, world-class technologists and technologies related to IBM Microelectronics, subject to completion of applicable regulatory reviews. GLOBALFOUNDRIES will also become IBM's exclusive server processor semiconductor technology provider for 22 nanometer (nm), 14nm and 10nm semiconductors for the next 10 years.
 

Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
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So the rumors about the plant around here is that IBM basically poisoned the land underneath them in the 60s and 70s and if they just closed up shop on the plant they would actually have to deal with the disaster. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but its certainly a popular rumor I've heard a number of times. I suspect its an exaggeration of a truth though.

I don't think its that bad but yea if they closed they would have to clean up the land to a degree. So its a very minor part IMO and not a major reason.

They also would lose tax money they got deals on in the states and have to pay back on contracts they signed to others to make chips if they stopped making/supporting them.
 

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
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David Kanter says "no".

https://twitter.com/TheKanter/status/524202729854742528

they are only selling mfg, not selling R&D facilities. @IBM is keeping assembly in Montreal as well.

Note that Monreal was not on the list of sites that GloFo gets.

Also: "The Agreement, once closed, enables IBM to further focus on fundamental semiconductor research and the development of future cloud, mobile, big data analytics, and secure transaction-optimized systems. IBM continues its previously announced $3 billion investment over five years for semiconductor technology research to lead in the next generation of computing."
 
Mar 10, 2006
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David Kanter says "no".

https://twitter.com/TheKanter/status/524202729854742528



Note that Monreal was not on the list of sites that GloFo gets.

Also: "The Agreement, once closed, enables IBM to further focus on fundamental semiconductor research and the development of future cloud, mobile, big data analytics, and secure transaction-optimized systems. IBM continues its previously announced $3 billion investment over five years for semiconductor technology research to lead in the next generation of computing."

Thanks a bunch, ViRGE! Very helpful.
 

Ajay

Lifer
Jan 8, 2001
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David Kanter says "no".

https://twitter.com/TheKanter/status/524202729854742528



Note that Monreal was not on the list of sites that GloFo gets.

Also: "The Agreement, once closed, enables IBM to further focus on fundamental semiconductor research and the development of future cloud, mobile, big data analytics, and secure transaction-optimized systems. IBM continues its previously announced $3 billion investment over five years for semiconductor technology research to lead in the next generation of computing."

If true, that's really bad news. It seems like GF got "world-class technologists", which if the above is true, probably means they GF got world class technologists from the manufacturing side, not the research side. As IDK has pointed out, what GF really needs is a semicon research team. IBM's research team would have make a good starting group with existing experience in pathfinding, the development process and an in place culture.
 

NostaSeronx

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Sep 18, 2011
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84az4Ed.gif


Here is a slide explaining somewhat of what is happening.
The company has reached an agreement under which GLOBALFOUNDRIES will acquire IBM’s Microelectronics OEM semiconductor business and manufacturing operations. The transaction with GLOBALFOUNDRIES is expected to close in 2015. The results from continuing operations exclude the Microelectronics business, which is presented separately as discontinued operations.
 
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