IC packager Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) announced on May 15 that the company has reached a deal with Toshiba Semiconductor (Wuxi) in China to acquire its chip assembly and test plant for CNY70 million (US$11.4 million).

　　ASE has not provided a date to close the acquisition.

　　Named Wuxi Tongzhi Microelectronics, Toshiba's backend facility in China specializes in discrete and logic semiconductors for consumer electronics devices with contracts mainly from Toshiba. ASE's buyout of Wuxi Tongzhi could help the Taiwan-based company expand its presence in China's low pin-count IC market segment, and also enhance cooperation with its Japan-based clients.

　　In China, ASE has thus far run facilities in Kunshan, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Weihai to handle contracts from international IC vendors' local fabs.

　　ASE is currently the world's No.1 chip packaging and testing house by revenues.