Based out of Seattle and led by Managing Partner Stephen Rothrock, Colliers Microelectronic Division has organized brokers in offices worldwide to offer brokerage, facility assessment, tool set evaluation, capacity analysis, tax appeal and negotiated tax settlement services.
Rothrock began the effort to leverage Colliers global platform and form a new division last fall, after landing one of the most significant commissions in the company's history. Rothrock was the lead broker on the $183.5-million sale of Fujitsu's 200-acre semiconductor plant in Gresham Ore., which closed just five months after marketing began.
Prior to that, he also handled the $90-million disposition of the 93-acre former Matsushita plant in Puyallup, Wash. in 2000. In both cases, the buyer was Microchip Technology, which produces private-label chips for various companies and wanted to be able to meet demand quickly.
Rothrock was also retained by Microchip to provide a strategic assessment and opinion of value of the company's existing Washington state facility, which is now being marketed for sale, though not with Colliers. The list price for the 710,000-sf, 92-acre facility is about $94 million.
Add in other Colliers brokers from offices around the world who have had similar experience and you get Colliers Microelectronics Division.
"There's a significant change afoot within this market," Rothrock told GlobeSt.com last fall, explaining that semiconductor manufacturing is more and more often being handled by these third party producers, the majority of which are currently in Asia. "Our objective is to leverage our experience and get involved in some others."
The plan is starting to work. NEC Corp recently selected Colliers Microelectronics Division to facilitate the sale of its 127-acre, 873,782-sf microelectronics facility in Livingston, Scotland. The recently closed plant is being maintained and marketed as a ready-to-operate facility.
Rothrock could not be reached for comment this week, as he was in transit from Munich, where Semicon Europe took place this week. Doug Barrett, Rothrock's partner, tells GlobeSt.com that since 2000 some 64 fab plants have closed, and more than that are being quietly marketed for sale. "There is also significant demand for the tool lines and tool sets themselves, as opposed to the entire properties," says Barrett.
The demand for just the tools is that much of the production is shifting to China, where a major portion of the demand is likely to come given the population base and the bettering economy, says Barrett. "Secondly, the cost of production over there is very, very low," he adds. "We have a few entities we are working with in China that are looking to establish lines and we're using our China offices to assist."
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