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Applied Materials plans equipment market dominance with Semitool takeover
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Electrochemical plating and wafer surface preparation equipment supplier Semitool has announced that it has sold the last of its shares to Applied Materials. The purchase of the Montana-based company has pushed Applied Materials higher in the equipment supplier stakes, bolstering the company’s position in the memory industry’s move to copper.
The shares were bought for $11 each in an all-cash tender offer—totalling approximately $364 million, a figure based on the fully diluted capitalization of Semitool.
The combined industry experience of the two companies will render Applied better able to address customers’ needs in the semiconductor packaging industry as Semitool joins as a business unit of Applied’s Silicon Systems Group.
“The semiconductor industry recovery is being fueled by global demand for mobile devices such as smart phones, notebook PCs and portable media players for music, gaming and books,” said Mike Splinter, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials. “With this acquisition, Applied will help the world’s leading chip makers create ever-smaller and more powerful devices.”