Did Samsung outsmart Arizona by skipping its 200$ million land auction?

You know what they say: never count your semiconductor manufacturers before they hatch… or something along those lines. What’s way more certain is that the state of Arizona might have just missed out on one of its most lucrative land sales in recent memory. The one that was repeatedly associated with Samsung’s well-established interest in expanding its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the United States.

Earlier this week, two heavy land deeds spanning over 2,000 acres in total saw their auctions end with zero bids. Not that everyone in the vicinity was broke, but the state administration demanded some rather imposing fees in exchange for parting with the said land. That did not pay off, based on the fact that Samsung was widely believed to have been the most serious bidder considering either asset. Mayhap even both.

‘All my chipsets live in Texas’

Samsung’s largest rival, Taiwanese chipmaking juggernaut TSMC, is already setting up shop in the area. And it isn’t buying this latest turn of events as a signal that Samsung gave up on settling in the neighborhood, based on what its officials said just yesterday.

On the other hand, we are already hearing claims that this turn of events is a de facto confirmation of Austin being picked for the location of Samsung’s next giant construction project. Not only does Samsung already have one such mega-factory in the area, but settling for a lower tax cut from Texas sounds like a way easier decision to make than getting baited into buying overpriced land. But there’s another auction for the same two estates scheduled to take place on May 19th, so there’s still time for another plot twist or three.