Intel said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell about 10% of its IMS nanoprocessing business to TSMC.

The deal values IMS at approximately $4.3 billion. Intel will retain a majority stake in IMS, with the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter.

"We believe TSMC's investment also demonstrates the excitement across the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem about the significant opportunities ahead of IMS," said Matt Poirier, vice president of corporate development at Intel.

Intel is building a contract manufacturing business called Intel Foundry Services to compete with TSMC. But TSMC has been a long-term partner of IMS since around 2011 or 2012 and relies on the company's technology, according to IMS CEO Elmar Platzgummer.

Earlier this year, Intel sold a 20% stake in IMS to Bain Capital at the same valuation.

Intel acquired IMS in 2015. The Austrian company makes a chip-making component called a mask that is necessary for the next generation of photolithography tools. To continue making faster chips, so-called "high numerical aperture" extreme ultraviolet equipment is necessary.

“As the industry moves to EUV, only one technology solution remains for mask writing, which is an essential part of chip manufacturing,” Platzgummer said.

View more at EASELINK