166: The pressure enough to crush Sugon Technology

Lin Chen, who felt a sense of relief upon hearing that Motorola indeed had an intention to sell its chip factory, was instantly overjoyed.

Although this was only an 8-inch wafer fab, it seemed a bit weaker compared to Zhongxin International's currently under-construction 12-inch wafer fab.

But the problem was that Motorola wasn't just selling an 8-inch wafer fab; it was packaging and selling both the 8-inch wafer fab and its affiliated semiconductor factory together.

Therefore, this was a relatively complete chip factory, and acquiring it would mean solving all issues related to in-house chip production.

So, if Shuguang Technology could acquire this 8-inch wafer factory, it would be equivalent to having its own complete chip factory.

Even if the wafer size and process technology of this chip factory lagged behind the rest of the world, after all, United States would never approve the sale of truly good things; don't treat the Wassenaar Arrangement as a piece of waste paper.

Therefore, anything approved for sale would certainly be second- or even third-rate outdated technology and equipment.

But the issue is that there's a big difference between having and not having; if you don't have a chip factory, your confidence will always be three points weaker, but if you have your own chip factory...

Even if its manufacturing process lags behind the world by two or three generations, having it will make you more confident and allow you to stand in an invincible position.

Therefore, Shuguang Technology urgently needed this chip factory, and it would be difficult to get such a good opportunity next time.

A ready-made chip factory won't always be available, and when the chip factory owner is willing to sell, it's even rarer among rare opportunities.

So, if Shuguang Technology wanted to own its complete semiconductor factory within the next few years, the 8-inch wafer fab and its affiliated factory located in Tianjin were a rare opportunity!

"How much would it cost for the package deal? Is there an amount?"

Lin Chen continued to ask Lei Bu Si.

In response, Lei Bu Si immediately showed a bitter smile and said:

"It's not optimistic. According to the information I've gathered, you'll need to prepare at least 9 billion to acquire the 8-inch wafer fab and its affiliated semiconductor factory.

Of course, to be safe, you might need to prepare 12 billion or 13 billion, but the exact amount is still unknown."

Previously, Lin Chen had casually mentioned to Lei Bu Si to check if Motorola had an intention to sell its chip factory, so Lei Bu Si had sent people to inquire.

However, since no decision had been made on whether to send a professional business negotiation team to Motorola's headquarters, how much Motorola would actually ask for was still unknown.

Currently, the only thing known was that Motorola seemed to genuinely intend to sell, and according to publicly available information from Motorola...

Motorola's semiconductor project had lost 284 million US dollars last year, so they indeed had the possibility of selling that 8-inch wafer fab and its affiliated semiconductor factory located in Tianjin.

"At least 9 billion?! And to be safe, they need to prepare 12 billion to 13 billion!"

Huang Hua, beside Lin Chen, gasped sharply after hearing Lei Bu Si's answer.

At this moment, Chen Dong, also beside Lin Chen, voiced his confusion:

"Is this chip factory that expensive? That's 9 billion! How long will it take us to earn that much money?!"

Hearing this, Huang Hua immediately agreed, saying:

"Indeed, our new factory with an annual output of 12 million phones already has a total investment of 300 million, which is quite exaggerated. There are very few domestic manufacturers willing to spend that much money to build a phone factory.

But now, an 8-inch wafer factory and its affiliated semiconductor factory start at 9 billion, and even need 12 billion to 13 billion to be safe!

Is the cost of producing chips ourselves too high? Do we really need to get involved in the chip manufacturing industry? I think it's better to find someone to OEM phone chips.

Moreover, don't we have Zhongxin International in Daxia? We can hand over the chip OEM task to them."

Facing Huang Hua's hesitant words, even Lei Bu Si couldn't help but nod at this moment.

Because with Shuguang Technology's current strength, putting aside whether they could even get a loan for 9 billion, even if they could, how to repay it in the future would be a big problem.

According to Shuguang Technology's current situation, even if they achieved full production and sales of 1.22 million units per month in the future, with monthly revenues of several hundred million yuan...

But if they really bought this chip factory, considering Shuguang Technology's own development needs and the massive expenditure on R&D, it would probably take at least 5 or 10 years to clear this enormous debt.

Moreover, buying a chip factory doesn't mean the end of it; after buying it, you still have to find ways to turn losses into profits.

After all, the factory was already losing money, so after you buy it, you will definitely have to invest to find ways to turn losses into profits.

In this situation, buying a chip factory doesn't mean the end; buying a chip factory also means taking on a huge burden!

Facing such immense pressure, does Shuguang Technology really need to enter the chip manufacturing industry? Can Shuguang Technology truly bear such immense pressure?

Therefore, Huang Hua and even Lei Bu Si felt that perhaps they should slow down for now. They could enter the chip manufacturing industry in the future, but with Shuguang Technology's current strength, they should slow down.

They believed that Shuguang Technology should first develop well in the mobile phone industry, and wait until it reached the level of Motorola and Nokia in the future.

By then, building such a chip factory would be nothing; forcing it now would only slow down Shuguang Technology's development speed!

"I support the boss."

Compared to Lei Bu Si and Huang Hua, Chen Dong, at this moment, uncharacteristically supported Lin Chen.

"Hmm? Chen Dong, this is a huge sum starting from 9 billion, possibly 12 billion to 13 billion! Why do you still support it?"

Huang Hua looked at his companion's actions and asked his confused question.

"The more lions, the less worry; the more debt, the less itchy. We certainly can't get it now, but we can get a loan from the bank.

As for whether we can repay it, I trust the boss."

"You're really confident."

Facing words that completely trusted Lin Chen, Huang Hua was also a bit helpless.

However, thinking about the growth rate of Shuguang Technology and Lin Chen's series of flawless decisions, Huang Hua could no longer voice any objections at this moment.

Thus, Huang Hua, Lei Bu Si, Chen Dong, and Li Qianqiang, along with other senior executives, all turned their gaze to Lin Chen, awaiting his decision.

In response, Lin Chen looked at the gazes directed at him, then recalled his dream of breaking foreign technological monopolies and achieving domestic substitution, and then showed a resolute smile:

"Although the pressure to bear in the next few years will be somewhat great, to realize the dream of a strong nation, let's go all out and do it. Someone always has to bear these burdens."

"Yes."

Everyone who heard Lin Chen's words nodded gently. Since Lin Chen had already decided to do it, they would just go all out and do it well.