After signing an exclusive letter of intent to acquire the P5 fab in Tongluo from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. for $1.8 billion, Micron Technology appears to be moving the deal into its next phase.
According to TechNews, Micron has circulated a confidential invitation to suppliers announcing a tool move-in ceremony scheduled for March 26, 2026. The event is seen as an important milestone, signaling tangible progress in Micron’s expansion plan tied to the acquisition.
The ceremony is expected to run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with strict attendance controls. Each supplier will be allowed to send only one representative, and participants were required to confirm their name and title by March 13.
Micron previously indicated that the transaction could close by Q2 2026, subject to final agreements and regulatory approvals. Once finalized, the company will take operational control of the Tongluo P5 facility and begin installing equipment to gradually ramp up DRAM production, while PSMC relocates its existing operations from the site.
Earlier reporting by Economic Daily News revealed that Micron has also prepaid backend wafer manufacturing capacity for High Bandwidth Memory, effectively bringing PSMC into its advanced packaging ecosystem. Under the collaboration, PSMC is expected to focus on key technologies including Wafer-on-Wafer (WoW) 3D stacking and interposer technology, both essential for advanced AI chip packaging.
Market research firm TrendForce estimates that Micron plans to deploy both existing and new equipment at the Tongluo facility in phases during 2026–2027, primarily front-end tools used in advanced DRAM manufacturing. Mass production is expected to begin in 2027.
TrendForce also projects that Phase 1 capacity from the Tongluo fab in the second half of 2027 could exceed 10% of Micron’s global production capacity as of the fourth quarter of 2026.
The Tongluo deal is part of a broader expansion strategy by Micron to support surging memory demand driven by AI. Prior to this acquisition, the company had already purchased multiple facilities in Taiwan, including two fabs in Tainan from AU Optronics, a Taichung fab from AUO Crystal, and another Taichung facility from Glorytek.
These facilities have since been repurposed for various backend processes such as wafer probing, metallization, and TSV processing for HBM, strengthening Micron’s advanced memory manufacturing and packaging capabilities.
