In　nonlinear　global　placement　methods,　the　very　large　scale　integration　(VLSI)　global　placement　problem　is　formulated　as　a　nonlinear　mathematical　programming　problem　that　contains　the　wirelength　objective　and　the　non-overlapping　constraints,　and　it　is　usually　solved　by　the　penalty　function　method.　In　this　paper,　unlike　using　the　penalty　function　method,　a　proximal　alternating　direction　method　(PADM)　based　solver　is　attempted　to　solve　the　VLSI　global　placement　problem.　In　the　solver,　a　alternating　direction　method　combining　with　proximal　point　algorithm　is　used　to　optimize　the　VLSI　placement　problem　according　to　its　features.　Moreover,　local　convergence　of　the　PADM　method　is　proved　under　some　conditions.　In　addition,　the　multilevel　framework　is　adopted　to　make　the　PADM　based　solver　scalable.　Preliminary　numerical　results　on　the　IBM　standard　cell　benchmarks　show　that　the　proposed　solver　is　promising.　©　2015　IEEE.