ATIC offers to buy top chip maker

       An Abu Dhabi investment firm has offered to buy Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor for US$3.9 billion, which would create one of the world's largest microchip makers.
       The buyout by Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) comes as chip companies around the world look to boost sales after being hit hard by falling demand brought about by the global slump.
       Chartered chairman James Norling said the firm had been looking at several "potential strategic options" and the offer from ATIC was the best.
       "After carefully looking at all of these strategic options in front of us, we believe this proposal is definitely worthy for the company shareholders to consider," he said at a news briefing.
       ATIC, Abu Dhabi's investment vehicle in the high-tech sector, is also the main shareholder in Globalfoundries, a joint venture with US firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), focused on making nextgeneration chips.
       Chartered is the world's third-biggest maker of custom-made chips, but it has been struggling to catch up with leaders Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC), also of Taiwan.
       It has also been hit by the global economic crisis, but the industry is banking on rising demand for "billions of new mobile phones, cars, televisions, computers and other devices" that are run by chips.
       ATIC chief executive Ibrahim Ajami said the combined strengths of Chartered and Globalfoundries would make them number two in the world, behind market leader TSMC in terms of capacity.
       "Right now Chartered is ranked, from the microchip perspective, as the third leading foundry in the world. A combination with Globalfoundries would put us as the second leading foundry in the world," he said.
       ATIC, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, wants to buy each Chartered ordinary share at S$2.68 (US$1.86) in cash, valuing the company at about US$1.8 billion.
       Including Chartered's debt and convertible redeemable preference shares totalling US$2.2 billion, the transaction would have a total value of about US$3.9 billion, the two companies said in a joint statement.
       ATIC's offer per share for Chartered represents a premium of 14.2% on its 30-trading day volume weighted average price.
       Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, which owns about 62%of Chartered, has thrown its support behind the deal, said Norling.
       Chartered chief executive Chia Song Hwee said the company would not solicit competitive bids, but would have to go through the process if there were unsolicited offers.
       "All parties concerned are very committed to make this scheme go through,"he said at the news briefing.
       ATIC chairman Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi said he believed Temasek's support for the deal would discourage any other interested parties.
       "We believe that we are the best choice for Chartered's current investors. We believe we have a compelling offer on the table," he said.