Service Hotline: 13823761625

News

Contact Us

You are here:Home >> News >> Industry News

Industry News

ASM Announces Acquisition of Italian SiC epitaxial equipment manufacturer LPE

Time:2022-07-20 Views:1958
    On July 18, ASM international N.V. (ASM) announced an agreement under which ASM would acquire all outstanding shares of silicon carbide (SIC) and silicon epitaxial reactor manufacturer LPE S.p.A in Italy.



    Founded in 1972, LPE focuses on designing, manufacturing and selling advanced epitaxy tools for power applications. It is a recognized leader in SiC epitaxy and has issued a number of patents so far. LPE has a huge SiC epitaxial tool installation base in the world, which is specially used to manufacture equipment to meet the rapidly growing electric vehicle market. LPE‘s revenue in 2023 is expected to exceed 100million euros, mainly driven by its SiC epitaxial equipment business.

    Driven by the rapid expansion of the electric vehicle market, silicon carbide devices are experiencing strong growth. The global automotive industry is investing heavily in chips made of silicon carbide. Due to its wide band gap, SiC is very efficient under high voltage, which can provide higher power efficiency and higher power density, thus reducing the weight and size of components and faster charging speed. Therefore, the demand for SiC epitaxial devices (based on ASM internal estimates) is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 25% from 2021 to 2025.

    Benjamin LOH, President and CEO of ASM, said, "LPE can well meet the needs of global automotive customers and low-carbon drive by virtue of its strong innovation culture and its attraction to silicon carbide equipment manufacturers with 150 mm and 200 mm substrates."

    "In addition to the continuous expansion of advanced epitaxial applications in the logic foundry and memory markets, ASM is also a leader in silicon epitaxial solutions in the power devices, simulation and wafer markets. The advanced SiC epitaxial tools provided by LPE are a supplement to ASM products. I believe that the combination of LPE and ASM will help our customers accelerate their roadmap for the next generation of more efficient power devices, which will promote the further electrification of the automotive industry. Revenue Purchasing LPE adds another high growth business to our differentiated technology portfolio, and by using our innovative extension technology, we establish our important customer base in the field of power devices, further distinguish LPE products, provide meaningful market segmentation opportunities for creating value, and use our global service network to meet customer needs. "

    Franco Preti, CEO of LPE, said, "we believe that ASM‘s acquisition is attractive to LPE and ASM‘s customers and employees. This acquisition will also enable LPE to obtain world-class R & D resources and take advantage of ASM‘s global operations, sales and customer support network."

    After the transaction is completed, LPE will operate as a product department under ASM global product organization. LPE will continue to be based in Italy, with technology and manufacturing centers in Milan and Catania.

    This transaction requires FDI (foreign direct investment) and antitrust approval in some countries. If there is no transaction before November 10, 2022, both parties will have a six-month sincere exclusive discussion with the purpose of completing the transaction.

    ASM will use a combination of cash and shares to fund the transaction, with a purchase price of 283.25 million euros in cash and 631154 ASM shares. At the date of signing, this amount represents an enterprise value of 425million euros in cash and debt free terms. Within two years after the completion of the transaction, an additional amount of up to 100million euros will be paid through profit based on certain performance indicators.

    ASM will further discuss the acquisition at the 2022 second quarter earnings conference call on July 21, 2022.



    Disclaimer: This article is transferred from other platforms and does not represent the views and positions of this site. If there is infringement or objection, please contact us to delete. thank you!
    矽源特科技ChipSourceTek