Axcelis Technologies’ Board of Directors has rejected the $6.00 per
share offer for the company by Sumitomo Heavy Industries. Axcelis cited
the continued under-valuation such an offer makes when considering
Axcelis’s business potential with its suite of Optima implant tools and
the value in SEN, the joint venture implant business between Axcelis
and SHI, the Axcelis board said in a statement.
“Although Axcelis' recent trading prices, along with others' in the
industry, have been depressed, the Board believes the Company is well
positioned for the future and worth more than $6.00 per share,” noted
Mary G. Puma, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Axcelis
Technologies.
However, the company was not averse to further
meetings with SHI, in particular to discuss options regarding the SEN
joint venture. The companies have yet to agree on a licensing deal in
regard to the single wafer Optima tools, a topic that has dragged on
for over a year with little indication that the protracted negotiations
would be completed in 2008.