OPTION AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
OAK TECHNOLOGY, INC.
AND
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
AUGUST 8, 1996
OPTION AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and becomes effective as of AUGUST 8, 1996 (the
"Effective Date") by Taiwan Semiconductor Co., Ltd. ("TSMC"), a company
organized under the laws of the Republic of China with its registered address
at No. 121, Park Ave. 3, Science-Based Industrial Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan, and
OAK Technology, Inc., a company organized under the laws of the R.O.C., with
its registered address at Rm. B, 7F, No. 370, Sec. 1, Fu-Hsing S. Rd. Taipei,
Taiwan, R.O.C. ("Customer").
RECITALS
WHEREAS, TSMC currently supplies Customer with wafers and Customer
wishes to increase the purchase volume of wafers from TSMC;
WHEREAS, in order to increase its output, TSMC must accelerate its ramp
up in Fab 3 and advance the start of Fab 4;
WHEREAS, as a condition to TSMC's acceleration of these facilities, TSMC
has asked Customer to make a capacity commitment and certain advance payment
under three option agreements;
[*
]
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and conditions
contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
1. [* ]
[*
]
[*] Confidential Treatment Requested
[*
]
2. DEFINITIONS
(a) "Base Capacity" used in this Agreement shall mean the capacity that
TSMC agrees to provide, and of which Customer agrees to purchase 90%,
in addition to the Option Capacity, pursuant to this Agreement.
(b) "Customer Committed Capacity" used in this Agreement shall mean the
total capacity that Customer agrees to purchase from TSMC pursuant to
this Agreement, and is set forth in Exhibit B.
(c) "Option Capacity" used in this Agreement shall mean the firm
capacity commitment made by Customer pursuant to this Agreement, for
which capacity Customer agrees to pay TSMC liquidated damages at a
rate [* ] for any such unused capacity
pursuant to Section 6(a) below.
(d) "Option Fee" used in this Agreement shall mean Customer's deposit
balance, [* *] at TSMC upon the execution hereof as partial
prepayment of the Option Capacity to be purchased by Customer, and
for liquidated damages upon Customer's failure to purchase the Option
Capacity. Except for the return of the corresponding Option Fee under
assignment pursuant to Section 6(a), the Option Fee is not refundable.
(e) "TSMC Committed Capacity" used in this Agreement shall mean the
total capacity that TSMC agrees to provide to Customer pursuant to this
Agreement, and is set forth in Exhibit B.
(f) "Wafer Equivalent" used in this Agreement shall mean the number of
6" or 8" wafers based on the equivalency factor for 1995 Base Capacity.
For details of the equivalency factor, please refer to Exhibit A. Any
and all the capacity commitments referred to in this Agreement shall be
measured in Wafer Equivalent.
[*] Confidential Treatment Requested
3. VOLUME COMMITMENT
(a) Customer agrees to purchase from TSMC the Customer Committed
Capacity, and TSMC agrees to provide to Customer the TSMC Committed
Capacity, as set forth in Exhibit B. In any calendar year, the orders
placed by Customer shall first apply to fulfill 90% of the Base
Capacity portion, and then the Option Capacity.
(b) Each month, Customer agrees to provide to TSMC a six-month rolling
forecast of the number of wafers that Customer will purchase, with the
volume for the first twelve weeks being frozen (i.e. Customer must
purchase all of the quantity forecast for the delivery in the first
twelve weeks of all forecast). The forecast must be based on wafers out
or deliveries expected to be made by TSMC.
(c) TSMC will use its reasonable effort to cause its fabs to be capable
of producing wafers of more advanced specifications, as set forth in
the TSMC Technology Road Map attached in Exhibit C.
4. WAFER PRICE
(a)[*
] Customer has the right to conduct price audit once
a year on wafer price for the preceding twelve months through an
internationally renown accounting firm, with a one-month prior written
notice to TSMC. In the event that the wafer prices for the Option
Capacity do not comply with this paragraph, TSMC will credit Customer
any difference between the actual wafer prices paid and the Average
Wafer Prices determined during the audits. TSMC will credit against
Customer [* ] Wafer Equivalent for the Option Capacity
purchased in the year 1996 and [* ] Wafer Equivalent for the
Option Capacity in the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.
(b) The parties shall negotiate in good faith each month the wafer prices
for the Option Capacity ordered for the following month, and of no
agreement may
[*] Confidential Treatment Requested
be reached by the parties before the end of each month, the parties
agree to apply the wafer price used in that month to any orders placed
by Customer in the subsequent month, and submit the dispute to the
binding arbitration pursuant to Section 12 below to decide the wafer
price within two months upon submission. Under such circumstances,
neither party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement under
Section 7 below.
5. OTHER PURCHASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The Customer/TSMC Indemnity Agreement dated October 26, 1996 will apply
to all purchases of wafers by Customer from TSMC, except that the provisions
of this Agreement will supersede the above Agreement with respect to the
subject matter hereof. Within ninety (90) days upon execution hereof, both
parties agree to use their best efforts to negotiate and enter into a wafer
production agreement for the purchase of wafers hereunder.
6. FAILURE TO PURCHASE THE CUSTOMER COMMITTED CAPACITY; FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL
(a) Provided for the year 1996, if in any calendar year, for any reason,
Customer is not able to use or purchase all or a portion of the Customer
Committed Capacity of that year, or any other year(s) during the term
of this Agreement, Customer shall promptly notify TSMC of such in
writing and first offer TSMC such Capacity for sales to any third
parties. In addition to its right to terminate this Agreement under
Section 7(b) below, TSMC may, at its option, accept such offer, in whole
or in part, within thirty (30) days following Customer's notification.
In the event that TSMC decides not to accept such offer, Customer may
assign such unused Customer Committed Capacity for that calendar year or
this Agreement (including the right to purchase the Customer Committed
Capacity for the remaining term of this Agreement) to any third parties
acceptable to TSMC, within two months upon TSMC's written notice that it
will not accept such offer, and if Customer fails to do so, TSMC has the
right to deduct from the Option Fee [* ]
times the unused Option Capacity for the applicable year as liquidated
damages, and TSMC is entitled to sell or use any unused capacity
thereafter. Any unused
[*] Confidential Treatment Requested
Customer Committed Capacity for 1996 shall be carried forward to the
year 1997 and counted as additional Option Capacity for 1997.
(b) If any portion of this Agreement or the whole Agreement is assigned
to any third parties acceptable to TSMC pursuant to this Section 6(a)
above, Customer shall cause such third parties to abide by the terms
and conditions of this Agreement, and TSMC will return to Customer the
portion of the Option Fee corresponding to the assigned Option Capacity
at the same rates as set forth in Section 4(a).
7. TERM AND TERMINATION
(a) The term of this Agreement shall commence from the Effective Date,
and continue until December 31, 1999, or the date of total consumption
of the Option Fee pursuant to this Agreement, whichever is earlier.
(b) TERMINATION FOR OTHER BREACH OR FOR BANKRUPTCY
Either party may terminate this Agreement if the other party breaches
any material provisions of this Agreement and does not cure or remedy
such breach within ninety (90) days of receiving written notice of such
breach, or becomes the subject of a voluntary or involuntary petition in
bankruptcy or any proceeding relating to insolvency, receivership or
liquidation, if such petition or proceeding is not dismissed with
prejudice within sixty (60) days after filing.
(c) EFFECT OF TERMINATION
Both parties shall remain liable to the other party for any outstanding
and matured rights and obligations at the time of termination.
8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
In no event shall either party be liable for any indirect, special,
incidental or consequential damages (including loss of profits and loss of
use) resulting from, arising out of or in connection with the performance or
failure to perform under this Agreement, or resulting from, arising out of
or in connection with TSMC's
producing, supplying, and/or sale of the wafers, whether due to a breach
of contract, breach of warranty, tort, or negligence of TSMC, or otherwise.
9. NOTICE
All notices required or permitted to be sent by either party to the other
party under this Agreement shall be sent by registered mail postage prepaid,
or by personal delivery, or by fax. Any notice given by fax shall be
followed by a confirmation copy within ten (10) days. Unless changed by
written notice given by either party to the other, the addresses and fax
numbers of the respective parties shall be as follows:
To TSMC:
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
No. 121, Park Avenue 3
Science-Based Industrial Park
Hsinchu, Taiwan
Republic of China
To Customer:
OAK Technology, Inc.
Rm. B, 7F, No. 370
Sec. 1, Fu-Hsing S. Rd.
Taipei, Taiwan
Republic of China
10. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This Agreement, including Exhibits A-C, constitutes the entire agreement
between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and
supersedes and replaces all prior or contemporaneous understanding,
agreements, dealings and negotiations, oral or written, regarding the
subject matter hereof. No modification, alteration or amendment of this
Agreement shall be effective unless in writing and signed by both parties.
No waiver of any breach or failure by either party to enforce any provision
of this Agreement shall be deemed a waiver
of any other or subsequent breach, or a waiver of future enforcement of
that or any other provision.
11. GOVERNING LAW
This Agreement will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the
laws of the Republic of China.
12. ARBITRATION
Each party will make the best efforts to resolve amicably any disputes or
claims under this Agreement among the parties. In the event that a
resolution is not reached among the parties within thirty (30) days after
written notice by any party of the dispute or claim, the dispute or claim
shall be finally settled by binding arbitration in Taipei under the Rules
of the ROC Commercial Arbitration Act by three (3) arbitrators appointed
in accordance with such rules. The arbitration proceeding shall be conducted
in English. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered
in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
13. ASSIGNMENT
This Agreement shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of each party
and its successors, and except that Customer may assign this Agreement under
Section 6 above, neither party shall assign any of its rights hereunder, nor
delegate its obligations hereunder, to any third party, without the prior
written consent of the other.
14. CONFIDENTIALITY
Both parties shall keep in strict confidence the existence or contents
of this Agreement and take the best precaution possible to prevent any
unauthorized disclosure or use thereof. Both parties agree that no
disclosure of this Agreement or any matter relating thereto may be made
without the disclosing party first providing the proposed disclosure to the
other party two weeks in advance for consent. In the event disclosure is
required by laws or governmental regulations.
the disclosing party shall provide the other party the opportunity to
protest, participate in preparing disclosure or make reasonable changes
thereto.
15. FOUNDRY SOURCE
Customer shall use TSMC as the primary foundry source to manufacture all of
its products provided that TSMC offers competitive pricing, delivery and
technology.
16. FORCE MAJEURE
Neither party shall be responsible for delays or failure in performance
resulting from acts beyond the reasonable control of such party. Such acts
shall include but not limited to acts of God, war, riot, labor stoppages,
governmental actions, fires, floods, and earthquakes.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of
the date first stated above.
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR OAK Technology, Inc.
MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
BY: /s/ KL FOR DON BROOKS BY: /s/ DAVID D. TSANG
--------------------- ------------------
Donald W. Brooks David Tsang
President President
Exhibit A
[ * ]
[*] Confidential Treatment Requested
Exhibit B
[ * ]
[*] Confidential Treatment Requested
Exhibit C
[ * ]
[*] Confidential Treatment Requested
Option Agreement - Oak Technology Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc.
Was this helpful?