Mergers & acquisitions
Malaysia's Unisem has completed acquisition of IC packaging and test company Atlantic Technology in Wales. Atlantic is claimed as Europe's most comprehensive semiconductor assembly and test facility in the contract-manufacturing marketplace. The Welsh company has become Unisem (Europe). Unisem has acquired Atlantic from its management. Atlantic current employs 250 people.
Unisem's workforce is more than 4000. The acquisition values Atlantic at $30mn. Unisem says that it will continue to invest in new manufacturing and test technology at the Crumlin facility in Wales and anticipates creating a number of new jobs over the medium term. The facilities in Wales have a total area of 12,000m2, including 6400m2 of production area and a 1600m2 Class 1000 clean room.
Mattson Technology has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Vortek Industries, a developer of millisecond flash annealing technology based in Vancouver, Canada. The acquisition is subject to the approval of Vortek's security holders and a Canadian court, and to customary closing conditions. Completion is expected by the end of Q3 2004.
Vortek's Flashfire rapid thermal process (RTP) system features patented arc lamp technology, improving thermal control for millisecond flash-assisted RTP annealing. The companies believe that the technology meets the ultra-shallow junction (USJ) anneal requirements through to the 32nm process regime.
Key RTP factors for shrinking feature sizes include enhanced temperature uniformity, control and emissivity independence, as well as faster ramp-up and cool-down rates. Mattson hopes the acquisition will help it to encompass the full range of advanced RTP applications, including low-temperature NiSi, as well as low-pressure, atmospheric and flash anneal.
International Rectifier (IR) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the specialty silicon epitaxial services business of ATMI, subject to customary closing conditions and certain third-party approvals. IR has been a long-term customer of ATMI's specialty epitaxial services business in Mesa, Arizona. IR will pay ATMI up to $41mn in cash for the operations and assets of the group, including related intellectual property, fixed assets, and inventory.
IR CEO Alex Lidow said: "This group has provided excellent service to us over the years, and we are excited to have these employees join the IR team. They will bring innovative knowledge and expertise in specialty silicon and silicon germanium epitaxy, as well as key intellectual property for improving epitaxy deposition throughput and lowering production costs."
Some 90 employees will join IR as part of the agreement. The transaction is expected to close in the September quarter.
