New York, Jan 17, 2026, 08:34 EST — Market closed
- Micron inked an exclusive LOI to acquire PSMC’s Tongluo (Taiwan) P5 fab site, shelling out $1.8 billion in cash
- MU ended last Friday at $362.75, marking a 7.76% gain ahead of the U.S. markets reopening after the holiday
- A filing on Jan. 15 revealed director Teyin Liu purchased 23,200 Micron shares, spending roughly $7.8 million
Micron Technology announced Saturday it has entered into an exclusive letter of intent to buy Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s P5 fabrication facility in Tongluo, Taiwan, for $1.8 billion in cash. On Friday, Micron’s shares closed at $362.75, gaining $26.12, or 7.76%, on roughly 47.9 million shares traded.
This announcement comes amid growing concerns that memory, not processors, could be the next bottleneck in AI development. Attention is now on DRAM and NAND chips, which provide servers with the fast working memory and flash storage essential for AI. Morgan Stanley analyst Shawn Kim noted this week that “the risk is execution and transition, not demand,” highlighting how AI inference is causing unusually long order visibility for memory manufacturers. Investing.com
Micron revealed that the Tongluo deal brings in a 300,000-square-foot, 300-millimeter wafer cleanroom and establishes a long-term partnership with PSMC for post-wafer assembly tasks, including packaging and related processes. “Demand continues to outpace supply,” said Manish Bhatia, Micron’s executive vice president of global operations. The company anticipates closing the transaction by the second quarter of 2026, pending agreements and regulatory approval, with “meaningful” DRAM wafer output expected in the latter half of 2027. Micron Technology
Micron director Teyin Liu disclosed a series of stock buys in a Form 4 filed on Jan. 15, picking up 23,200 shares at an average price near $337 each. That takes his total stake to 25,910 shares. The moves add up to about $7.8 million, according to the filing.
Micron kicked off a major capacity expansion Friday, breaking ground on its New York megafab. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra called it a clear signal of their dedication to producing advanced memory on a large scale in the U.S., with production expected to begin around 2030.
Chip stocks supported Wall Street’s gains on Friday, pushing a semiconductor index up 1.2% as the week wrapped up. With U.S. markets shut Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, investors are bracing for a quieter week but will focus on upcoming earnings, notably Intel’s.
But a letter of intent isn’t the same as a done deal. Micron’s timeline extends well beyond the coming quarters — closing depends on approvals, and the company still needs to outfit and scale the site before production begins. Outside of Micron, the memory market remains cyclical. Barron’s also pointed out the risk that Chinese competitors could intensify pressure in flash memory, even as the sector shows signs of a rally.
Traders face a clear initial question: will Tongluo be seen as a quick boost to capacity that tightens supply, or as the kickoff to a spending spree that could ease prices down the line? With Monday’s U.S. holiday, the market’s verdict will only emerge when trading picks up again on Tuesday.
After the reopening, investors will zero in on Micron’s upcoming earnings, which are penciled in for around March 18, per Yahoo Finance’s earnings calendar.
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