Recently, Panasonic announced they were getting out of the chip business, selling their semiconductor business to Taiwan’s Nuvoton Technology or $250 million. Israeli chip manufacturer, TowerJazz has a 51% stake in a joint venture with Panasonic, and there was some confusion about whether this joint venture was included in the sale.
Some reports had said that Panasonic’s sale would include the TowerJazz joint venture, which operates three chip-manufacturing facilities in Japan. To squash any rumours, TowerJazz has now announced that they are not selling their controlling interest or giving up board control.
In a statement, TowerJazz said…
TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader, clarifies following recent press releases in connection with the sale of Panasonic semiconductor business to Nuvoton that it will not sell its TPSCo shares and will maintain its 51% ownership and Board control in TPSCo.
Pursuant to its long-term strategy and growth plans, TowerJazz will continue its operations and manufacturing activity at TPSCoJapanese manufacturing facilities, in accordance with the recently extended contract with PSCS, and do not plan any changes to its foundry services and therefore no impact on the business relationship with its foundry customers.
This may be good news for Panasonic fans wondering where their future Panasonic camera sensors might be coming from. We don’t know the extent of Panasonic’s partnership with TowerJazz and exactly which products it might include, but it may be business as usual for upcoming cameras. There’s a chance we still might see a mirrorless camera containing the 8K organic sensor in time for the 2020 Olympics.
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