Renesas sells back-end fabs to J-Devices

Renesas Electronics signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the transfer of the semiconductor back-end production business of three facilities operated by Renesas' wholly owned manufacturing subsidiaries (the Hakodate Factory of Renesas Northern Japan Semiconductor, Inc. (Renesas Northern Japan), the Fukui Factory of Renesas Kansai Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (SKS), and the Kumamoto Factory of Renesas Kyushu Semiconductor Corp. (Renesas Kyushu)) and Renesas Northern Japan's wholly owned subsidiary, Hokkai Electronics Co., Ltd. (Hokkai Electronics) to J-Devices. The two companies plan to negotiate a final agreement and to complete the transfer in early June 2013. As the definitive terms of the proposed transaction including the transfer method are currently being negotiated, no details were made. The current employees of the transferred facilities will be “on loan” to J-Devices for a set period, under the premise that they will be reassigned to J-Devices on the basis of individual agreements in future. The Renesas products which will be manufactured at the facilities to be transferred will continue to be supplied by Renesas to customers with the quality, delivery schedules, service equal to or better than before even after the transfer. In addition to the current seven facilities of J-Devices (Usuki, Oita Prefecture (Headquarters); Kitsuki, Oita Prefecture (Headquarters functions); Shibata-gun, Miyagi Prefecture; Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture; Miyawaka, Fukuoka Prefecture; Oita, Oita Prefecture; and Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture), the present transfer will add an additional three production facilities. This will make J-Devices one of the world's top five OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) service providers.