Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) sold shares in VisEra Technologies Company Ltd. before a planned initial public offering of the image sensor provider.
According to a filing to the Taiwan stock exchange on Tuesday, the world’s largest chipmaker sold 38 million shares in VisEra at NT$240 ($8.60) apiece, cutting its stake in the company to 73.9%. It sold the stock to 17 investors, including Fubon Life Insurance Co., Fidelity International, and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte and domestic institutions Cathay Life Insurance Co.
TSMC informed in the filing that the transaction was to facilitate a proposed listing of VisEra in Taiwan without providing further details.
TSMC, in partnership with Santa Clara, California-based OmniVision Technologies Inc, set up VisEra in 2003 together before buying out its partner in 2015. Just as a boom in semiconductor demand drives a surge in prices of chipmakers and other companies that supply to the industry, the Taiwanese company is now seeking to spin off the unit. Over the past 12 months, TSMC’s shares have nearly doubled, making it the world’s 10th most valuable company at about $589 billion.
According to the introduction provided by VisEra’s official website:
“VisEra was founded in December 2003 as a spin-off from TSMC with investment from image sensor and strategic technology partners. In 2016, Visera became TSMC’s subsidiary.
We are the leading independent image sensor foundry provider focusing on high-quality, comprehensive turn-key services. We also provide wafer-level testing and wafer-level optical thin film services.
Our vision is to be one of the best and largest semiconductors optical components in the world.”
