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Wafer reclaim specialist Pure Wafer buys US rival Exsil, Inc. |
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Feb 13, 2007 at 12:05 PM |
 In a bid to grow its market share of 300mm wafer reclaim contracts in the U.S., Pure Wafer plc has acquired Exsil, Inc., a wafer reclaim facility based in Arizona, from parent company Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc. for $11.2million in cash.
"This is a company transforming transaction," stated Giles Clarke, Chairman of Pure Wafer. "At a time when 300mm wafer reclaim continues to grow quickly, we have acquired a unique site for economical growth of our 300mm capacity and enhancement of our competitive edge in the U.S. It gives us an excellent platform to benefit from the very strong growth forecast in that market and the opportunity to work with a new group of customers. We already have a strong management team at Pure Wafer, experienced in installing and ramping 300mm production lines, and we are welcoming a wealth of further semiconductor and management experience with the acquisition of this new facility. Our new facility has the potential to contribute to over 30 percent of the group's earnings within the next few years, and will be EPS enhancing within the first full financial year."
Although Exsil is a 200mm wafer reclaim specialist, Pure Wafer will install 300mm equipment into a new line at the 36,000 sq. ft. facility in Prescott, Arizona at a cost of $7 million. 300mm capacity within the facility is claimed to be scaleable to 80,000 wafers per month with further capital expenditure. This is comparable to Pure Wafer's Swansea facility, which is expected to have installed capacity of 80,000 wafers per month by mid-2007, according to the company.
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