The acquisition includes the cleanroom and tools that are adjacent to Micron's existing Taichung fab, bringing the company's fabrication and back-end together in one location. The new site will be focused on establishing a centralized back-end operation.

"This marks a significant step in our plan to create a center of excellence for leading-edge DRAM in Taiwan," said Wayne Allan, VP, Global Manufacturing. "Bringing fabrication and back end together, all in one location, builds an efficient support structure for end-to-end manufacturing with quicker cycle times that benefit our business and customers."

The new back-end site is expected to begin production in August, and the new integrated center of excellence is expected to bring greater operational cost efficiency that will benefit Micron's DRAM business on a global scale. These cost efficiencies are part of the overall US$500 million of ongoing operational enhancement opportunities cited at the company's 2017 analyst conference.

The strategic acquisition, with a winning bid of US$89.2 million, also highlights Micron's goal to grow its presence in Taiwan - where it is the largest foreign employer and investor - from its current wafer manufacturing function to a broader center of expertise in the global memory industry. The back-end site will further enhance the company's strong presence on the island, which already includes state-of-the-art, 300mm wafer fabrication facilities in Taichung and Taoyuan, as well as sales and technical support offices in Taipei.

The back-end operation will be led by site director Mike Liang, who joined Micron in November 2016 with more than 35 years of experience in the semiconductor industry. Having previously served in leadership roles at Ti-Acer, KYEC and Amkor Taiwan, Liang brings significant expertise in both front-end wafer fabrication and back-end assembly and test manufacturing.