Prime Highlight
- Micron Technology plans to buy Powerchip’s P5 fabrication plant in Taiwan for $1.8 billion, strengthening its DRAM production capabilities.
- The deal will establish a long-term foundry partnership, enhancing advanced DRAM packaging and specialty memory technologies.
Key Facts
- The acquisition adds about 300,000 sq. ft. of cleanroom space, with phased production expected to begin in the second half of 2027.
- Powerchip is a major Taiwanese foundry, and Micron’s investment is pending regulatory approval, with the deal expected to close by Q2 2026.
Background
Shares of Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp rose nearly 10% on Monday after U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology announced plans to buy one of the company’s fabrication plants for $1.8 billion.
Micron said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Powerchip’s P5 fabrication site in Tongluo, Miaoli County, in an all-cash deal. The company expects the purchase to strengthen its production capacity for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) as global demand for memory chips continues to exceed supply.
According to Micron, the acquisition will add around 300,000 square feet of cleanroom space, a critical requirement for advanced chip manufacturing. The company plans to scale up DRAM wafer output in phases, with production expected to begin in the second half of 2027.
Powerchip is one of Taiwan’s key semiconductor foundries and manufactures both legacy and memory chips. In a statement, the company said the deal will lead to a long-term foundry partnership with Micron. Under this arrangement, Micron will work with Powerchip on DRAM advanced-packaging wafer manufacturing and help strengthen its specialty DRAM process technologies.
Micron is one of only three major global suppliers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which are essential for artificial intelligence systems. The other two suppliers are South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said the memory market is likely to remain tight beyond 2026.
The company has had a presence in Taiwan for more than 30 years and is the island’s largest foreign direct investor. Its facilities in Taichung play a major role in DRAM and HBM production.
Micron’s shares surged 240% in 2025, far outperforming the broader chip index. The company said the Powerchip transaction is expected to close by the second quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
