Taiwan Chipmakers Leery of M&A Wave

Consolidation may lead to marginalization

Alan Patterson, EETimes
7/17/2015 00:00 AM EDT

TAIPEI — Taiwan chipmakers say they’re worried that the ongoing wave of global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the semiconductor industry may leave them stranded.

The recently announced M&A plans of Intel and Altera, NXP and Freescale, as well as Tsinghua Unigroup and Micron are signs that big players are aiming for sustainability as the chip industry enters maturity, according to chip executives in Taiwan, who are calling on their government to ease local restrictions governing investment in China.

“Intel, NXP and Qualcomm have more advanced technology than (companies in) Taiwan,” MediaTek Chairman M.K. Tsai said on the sidelines of a shareholder meeting on June 12. “They are continuing to invest in China. If Taiwan companies are restricted…they’ll be marginalized.”

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