Advanced Technology Investment Company LLC (ATIC) of Abu Dhabi and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing of Singapore (Chartered) has announced an agreement whereby ATIC would acquire Chartered

Under the terms of the agreement, ATIC will pay S$2.68 cash for each share of Chartered, representing S$2.5b for Charter's equity. Chartered share price closed at S$2.66 on Friday.

Temasek Holdings, which owns approximate 62% of Chartered's shares, of Chartered's shares, also fully supports the acquisition and has signed an irrevocable undertaking to vote in support of the transaction. The transaction will be finalized during 4Q 2009.

Once the acquisition is completed, ATIC will be the sole owner of Chartered. ATIC is the technology investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government.

Its latest bid for Chartered comes on the heels of its March 2009 creation of GLOBALFOUNDRIES a US-based semiconductor manufacturer.

ATIC plans to capitalize on the complementary strengths of Chartered's 8-inch and 12-inch fabrication expertise and GLOBALFOUNDRIES advanced technology expertise.

Separately, Chartered has also announced over improved guidance for its upcoming 3Q 2009 results compared to its earlier guidance in July 24, 2009.

Chartered attributed the upward revision in its guidance to business improvement in its mature technologies. Chartered now expects wafer shipments to increase some 24% compared to 2Q 2009. As a result, Chartered now expects 3Q 2009 net loss to be reduced by US$18m to a loss of US$4m compared to its previous guidance of a net loss of US$22m.