Kulicke & Soffa enter die bonder market
The acquisition is expected to close on in November 2006, and is subject to customary closing conditions.
K&S equipment segment vice president, Christian Rheault, commented on the agreement, "The acquisition of Alphasem is a natural extension of K&S's core equipment business into die bonding equipment. The die bonding process precedes the wire bonding step in semiconductor chip manufacturing, and normally utilizes adjacent floor space and a common engineering team."
He added, "According to VLSI Research, the die bonder market was $520 million in calendar year 2005. The combined Alphasem/K&S organization will allow us to better serve our customers' needs while further expanding our overall semiconductor assembly equipment market presence."
Mr. Rheault concluded, "Wire bonders and die bonders share many common functions, software features, sub-assemblies, and components. We believe joining the engineering and manufacturing expertise of Alphasem and K&S will yield superior equipment platforms."
