Fujitsu in Talks With Taiwan's UMC For JV

TOKYO--Japanese electronics firm Fujitsu Ltd. (6702.TO) is talking to United Microelectronics Corp. (2303.TW) of Taiwan about forming a joint venture to operate one of its semiconductor plants in Japan, a person familiar with the situation said Friday.

As part of a restructuring of its chipmaking operations amid sharp falls in demand in recent years, Fujitsu is also considering a partnership with ON Semiconductor Corp. (ONNN) of the U.S. on a possible sale of a second Japanese plant, according to local media reports in Japan.

Fujitsu said in a statement Friday that it was "considering various options, including business partnerships with other companies, but there have been no specific decisions made at this time."

The person familiar with the situation said the talks between Fujitsu and UMC, involving the first plant, in Mie prefecture, were at least several weeks from completion. The companies are discussing a partnership in which UMC would at first hold a minority stake, with the Taiwanese company increasing its ownership over time.

The second plant is in Fukushima prefecture. Last year, one of the production lines there was converted to a new business--growing lettuce in a clean room once reserved for semiconductor manufacturing.

Write to Eric Pfanner at eric.pfanner@@wsj.com

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