Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC), is negotiating to take a minority stake in the struggling semiconductor unit of PC manufacturer, Acer Inc. Any such deal would allow TSMC, the largest manufacturer of made-to-order chips in the world, to raise its production capacity. Acer’s semiconductor unit lost $150m in 1998. DRAM chips currently make up 80% of the unit’s production, a deal with TSMC would help the company break its dependence on the fickle memory market and focus more on custom system-on-a-chip designs. Unconfirmed reports in the Asian press suggest that TSMC will take a 30% stake in the company.
