SIMOX-SOI implant equipment company Ibis Technology has employed the investment bank BlueLake Partners to look at ‘strategic alternatives’ for the company that could include offering the company for sale. 

“We expect to analyze a number of potential strategic paths with the benefit of expertise provided by BlueLake Partners,” said Martin J. Reid, CEO of Ibis Technology.

The company is dependent on the sales of its implant tool, which is specifically designed for SOI wafer production, currently used by Japanese wafer supplier SUMCO for customers such as Sony for its Cell microprocessor.

However, demand for SIMOX-based technology has been limited and equipment build and acceptance times are lengthy. Recently, issues arose regarding the possible shift away from SOI wafers with the move by Sony to pass production of the Cell chip to Toshiba.