Philips to back out of TSMC

DUTCH FIRM Philips - which used to own PSV Eindhoven and even the airport in the town - said it will flog off a 16 per cent share it has in the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Philips got out of semiconductors last year when it sold its 80 per cent share in its chip unit to a gaggle of PE firms.

The shares are worth around $8.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. It will sell $1.75 billion worth of shares soon and then the rest over the next three years.

TSMC is what is dubbed a "pure play" foundry. It takes designs of chips and fabricates them for its customers. Philips will concentrate on lighting. µ

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