Motorola transferred its MOS-17 wafer fabrication plant in Tianjin to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) on 16 January 2004, in a transaction SMIC later valued at US$335.8 million. The deal was paid mainly in SMIC shares and warrants, with additional transition cash and intellectual-property arrangements—not as a simple cash purchase.
When did Motorola sell the Tianjin plant?
Motorola and SMIC announced the agreement on 24 October 2003. It closed on 16 January 2004. SMIC later referred to the acquired operation as Fab 7.
What did Motorola transfer, and what was the deal worth?
The asset transfer covered Motorola’s MOS-17 wafer fab, not all of Motorola’s semiconductor operations in Tianjin. SMIC’s 2011 filing reported a total transaction value of US$335.8 million. The consideration included 82,857,143 Series D convertible preference shares and warrants for another 8,285,714 Series D shares, issued to Motorola China Electronics Limited. Motorola also provided US$30 million in transition cash and received additional Series D shares and warrants. The SEC filing valued the warrants and preference shares at $321 million and said the seller recorded a $6 million gain. SMIC’s 2004 SEC filing; SMIC’s 2011 filing.
The parties also exchanged and licensed semiconductor intellectual property and signed a master foundry agreement. Under it, SMIC would fabricate wafers and provide related services to Motorola, leaving Motorola as a customer and strategic partner after ownership of the fab changed.
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Why did Motorola transfer MOS-17?
Motorola said the arrangement would use its manufacturing and research resources more efficiently, remove overhead and capital costs associated with MOS-17, and preserve its presence in Tianjin and China while continuing chip production there through SMIC. Scott Anderson, then president and CEO of Motorola’s Semiconductor Products Sector, said, “This agreement with SMIC maximizes the use of our manufacturing and R&D resources.” Motorola’s company history.
For SMIC, the acquisition brought an operating 200-mm wafer fab, process and intellectual-property support, transition services, and a major customer. SMIC’s 2011 filing described Fab 7 as having 73,182 square metres of total floor space, including approximately 8,430 square metres of production clean-room area. SMIC’s 2011 filing.
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Did Motorola remain in Tianjin after the sale?
Yes. Motorola retained the nearby BAT-3 assembly-and-test facility and continued other activities in Tianjin. SMIC said it would make employment offers to all Motorola employees associated with MOS-17. Those details distinguish the fab transfer from a complete withdrawal of Motorola’s Tianjin operations. Motorola’s company history; SMIC’s 2004 SEC filing.
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