August 24, 2004 – ChipMOS Technologies Inc. has agreed to purchase all of the testing and assembly assets of First International Computer Testing and Assembly Technology Inc. (FICTA) located in the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan (FICTA has two operations in Taiwan and a third in the US). The $30 million deal will boost ChipMOS’ capacity for assembly/testing memory products to 12 million pieces/month, according to Chairman and CEO S.J. Cheng. Also, ChipMOS plans to move some of the equipment, including wafer testers, final testers, and assembly equipment for memory products, to an overseas facility in order to ramp production there.

The ChipMOS/FICTA agreement marks the latest move in a series of consolidations in the backend semiconductor production segment. On August 24, Amkor Technology Inc. completed its $71 million purchase of Unitive Inc., targeting wafer-level packaging and 300mm bumping. On August 4, ST Assembly Test Services (STATS) finalized its $1.6 billion acquisition of Fremont, CA-based ChipPAC Inc.

Recent backend deals also have crossed party lines. Earlier this year FICTA sold a 354,000 sq. ft. assembly and test facility in Taiwan to Amkor for $42 million, which will be used for its flip-chip production lines. And in the past week, STATS/ChipPAC announced it has hired Scott Jewler as its new chief strategy officer, responsible for product line management and market and technology strategy — he was most recently president of Amkor’s Taiwan operations.