Spansion Japan reportedly will sell its 12-inch NOR flash memory facility, which now has total capacity of 30,000 wafers a month, raising speculation that supply in the global NOR flash market is set to tighten even further.
Industry sources in Taiwan revealed that Spansion Japan has agreed to sell its 12-inch production line located in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima prefecture to Texas Instruments (TI). If true, the already-tight supply of NOR flash chips may worsen.
The sources also pinpointed Winbond Electronics and Macronix International Company (MXIC), as well as NOR flash design house Eon Silicon Solution as beneficiaries of Spansion Japan's sale of its 12-inch production line.
Winbond has said sales of its NOR flash products increased 149% on year in the first quarter of 2010, while Macronix saw sales of its NOR flash business jump 108%.
In related news, a recent report saying TI is in final talks to buy two plants owned by Spansion Japan for 10-20 billion yen (US$111-222 million). Spansion CEO responding to the report, saying he could not confirm it as Spansion Japan is now a separate entity from Spansion.