October 26, 2009 –  Spansion Japan plans to sell its 300mm/65nm  fab in Aizu-Wakamatsu as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan, according to the Nikkei daily.

Once the biggest producer of NOR flash memory, Spansion succumbed earlier this year with a bankruptcy filing noting $2.4M in debt; its Japanese unit filed the domestic equivalency soon after, citing ¥74.1B in liabilities, and halving the workforce at its Fukushima Prefecture plant, the paper noted. The company hopes to reemerge as a viable entity by offering foundry services using old manufacturing lines.

The 300mm Aizu-Wakamatsu fab opened the site in early 2007 and ramped it a year later to 25,000 WPM; the ¥100B investment currently sits at about 30,000 WPM capacity. "The facility is still worth at least around ¥20B today," the paper quoted an unidentified Spansion Japan executive as saying. Potential buyers are being narrowed down, including a Chinese investment fund, the Nikkei claims.