- BorgWarner will participate in Wolfspeed's financing
transaction announced earlier today to support Wolfspeed's
multi-year capacity expansion plan
- Access to a dedicated supply of silicon carbide (SiC)
devices is significant to BorgWarner's inverter growth plan and
Charging Forward objectives
- Wolfspeed and BorgWarner are also exploring a deeper
collaboration for the purpose of accelerating technology
development
DURHAM, N.C. and AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 16,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE: WOLF),
the global leader in Silicon Carbide technology, and BorgWarner
Inc. (NYSE: BWA), a global product leader in delivering innovative
and sustainable mobility solutions for the vehicle market, today
announced a strategic partnership that calls for BorgWarner to
invest $500 million in Wolfspeed's
financing transaction, which was announced earlier today by
Wolfspeed, in exchange for a silicon carbide device capacity
corridor. Under the multi-year agreement between BorgWarner and
Wolfspeed, BorgWarner will be entitled to purchase up to
$650 million of devices annually as
BorgWarner requirements increase. Details of the Wolfspeed
financing can be found in Wolfspeed's separate press release and
Form 8-K filed with the SEC earlier today. BorgWarner has also
filed a Form 8-K disclosing its commitment to invest.
"Silicon carbide-based power electronics play an increasingly
important role for our customers as our electric vehicle business
continues to accelerate," said Frédéric Lissalde, President and CEO
of BorgWarner. "We believe this agreement helps ensure that
BorgWarner will have a reliable supply of high-quality silicon
carbide devices, which are significant to the company's inverter
growth plans. Building upon BorgWarner's world-class Viper power
switches and inverter technology, we are excited about the
opportunity to work jointly with Wolfspeed, the leader in silicon
carbide, on the potential development of the next generation of
silicon carbide products. We believe our relationship with
Wolfspeed will drive innovation, accelerate the global transition
to electric vehicles, and further BorgWarner's vision for a clean,
energy-efficient world."
BorgWarner's Charging Forward strategy targets $4.5 billion of electric vehicle revenue for
2025, compared to less than $350
million in 2021. Based on new business awards and
acquisitions announced as of the Company's third quarter earnings
release, BorgWarner believes it is already on track to achieve
approximately $4 billion of electric
vehicle revenue by 2025.
"Today's announcement demonstrates the creative solutions two
collaborative and strategic partners are pursuing to better support
the growing demand for silicon carbide devices. BorgWarner has been
a strong partner with Wolfspeed for many years, and we are pleased
to secure the investment from them which will be used to support
our capacity expansion efforts and ensure we have a steady supply
of product for their customers," said Gregg
Lowe, President and CEO for Wolfspeed. "This agreement,
combined with our most recent announcement of a
multi-billion-dollar materials expansion in North Carolina, confirms the industry
transition from silicon to silicon carbide is well underway."
Last month at the company's Investor Day, Wolfspeed outlined a
multi-year, $6.5 billion capacity
expansion effort which included the installation of additional
tools at the company's state-of-the-art, 200mm Mohawk Valley fab
and the construction of a 445-acre Silicon Carbide materials
facility in North Carolina, which
will expand the company's existing materials capacity by more than
10x. The first phase of construction is slated to be complete by
the end of FY2024.
About Wolfspeed, Inc.:
Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF) leads the market in the worldwide
adoption of Silicon Carbide and GaN technologies. We provide
industry-leading solutions for efficient energy consumption and a
sustainable future. Wolfspeed's product families include
Silicon Carbide materials, power devices and RF devices targeted
for various applications such as electric vehicles, fast charging,
5G, renewable energy and storage, and aerospace and defense. We
unleash the power of possibilities through hard work, collaboration
and a passion for innovation. Learn more
at www.wolfspeed.com.
Twitter: @Wolfspeed
LinkedIn: @Wolfspeed
Wolfspeed® is a registered trademark of Wolfspeed, Inc.
About BorgWarner:
For more than 130 years, BorgWarner
has been a transformative global product leader bringing successful
mobility innovation to market. Today, we're accelerating the
world's transition to eMobility — to help build a cleaner,
healthier, safer future for all.
Forward Looking
Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements by
Wolfspeed involving risks and uncertainties, both known and
unknown, that may cause Wolfspeed's actual results to differ
materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ
materially due to a number of factors, including the risk we may be
unable to manufacture new products with sufficiently low cost to
offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the
risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up
production of our new products; customer acceptance of our new
products; the rapid development of new technology and competing
products that may impair demand or render Wolfspeed's products
obsolete; and other factors discussed in Wolfspeed's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on
Form 10-K for the year ended June 26,
2022, and subsequent filings. For additional product and
company information, please refer to www.wolfspeed.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements as
contemplated by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
that are based on the current outlook, expectations, estimates and
projections of management of BorgWarner. Words such as
"anticipates," "believes," "continues," "could," "designed,"
"effect," "estimates," "evaluates," "expects," "forecasts," "goal,"
"guidance," "initiative," "intends," "may," "outlook," "plans,"
"potential," "predicts," "project," "pursue," "seek," "should,"
"target," "when," "will," "would," and variations of such words and
similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. Further, all statements, other than statements of
historical fact contained in this press release that BorgWarner
expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future regarding
BorgWarner's financial position, business strategy and measures to
implement that strategy, including changes to operations,
competitive strengths, goals, expansion and growth of BorgWarner's
business and operations, plans, references to future success and
other such matters, are forward-looking statements. All such
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses
made by BorgWarner in light of its experience and its perception of
historical trends, current conditions and expected future
developments, as well as other factors BorgWarner believes are
appropriate under the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of performance, and BorgWarner's actual results may
differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or
by such forward-looking statements.
You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release
or any earlier date cited above. Forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to
predict and generally beyond BorgWarner's control, that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed, projected
or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties, among others, include: the potential impact of
limitations and conditions applicable to BorgWarner's entitlement
to purchase silicon carbide devices under the agreement with
Wolfspeed; supply disruptions impacting BorgWarner or its
customers, such as the current shortage of semiconductor chips that
has impacted original equipment manufacturer ("OEM") customers and
their suppliers, including BorgWarner; commodities availability and
pricing, and an inability to achieve expected levels of success in
additional commercial negotiations with customers concerning
recovery of these costs; competitive challenges from existing and
new competitors including OEM customers; the challenges associated
with rapidly changing technologies, particularly as relates to
electric vehicles, and BorgWarner's ability to innovate in
response; uncertainties regarding the extent and duration of
impacts of matters associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including
additional production disruptions; the difficulty in forecasting
demand for electric vehicles and BorgWarner's electric vehicles
revenue growth; potential disruptions in the global economy caused
by Russia's invasion of
Ukraine; the ability to identify
targets and consummate acquisitions on acceptable terms; failure to
realize the expected benefits of acquisitions on a timely basis;
the ability to identify appropriate combustion portfolio businesses
for disposition and consummate planned dispositions on acceptable
terms; the failure to promptly and effectively integrate acquired
businesses; the potential for unknown or inestimable liabilities
relating to the acquired businesses; BorgWarner's dependence on
automotive and truck production, both of which are highly cyclical
and subject to disruptions; BorgWarner's reliance on major OEM
customers; fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency
exchange rates; BorgWarner's dependence on information systems; the
uncertainty of the global economic environment and potential for
recessionary conditions in regional economies; the outcome of
existing or any future legal proceedings, including litigation with
respect to various claims; future changes in laws and regulations,
including, by way of example, taxes and tariffs, in the countries
in which BorgWarner operates; impacts from any potential future
acquisition or disposition transactions; and the other risks noted
in reports that BorgWarner files with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in its most
recently-filed Form 10-K and/or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
BorgWarner does not undertake any obligation to update or announce
publicly any updates to or revisions to any of the forward-looking
statements in this press release to reflect any change in its
expectations or any change in events, conditions, circumstances, or
assumptions underlying the statements.
Wolfspeed
PR contact:
Melinda Walker
+1 818-261-4585
media@wolfspeed.com
IR contact:
Tyler
Gronbach
+1 919-407-4820
investorrelations@wolfspeed.com
BorgWarner
PR contact:
Michelle Collins
+1 248-754-0449
mediacontact@borgwarner.com
IR contact:
Pat
Nolan
+1 248-754-0884
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SOURCE BorgWarner; Wolfspeed, Inc.