Applied Materials investors give nod to tie-up with Tokyo Electron

Jun 24, 2014 - US company Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) said yesterday its shareholders have cleared its planned merger with Japan’s Tokyo Electron Ltd (TYO:8035).

Applied Materials offers equipment, services and software to producers of advanced semiconductor and flat panel display as well as solar photovoltaics (PVs). Among other products, Tokyo Electron is also manufacturing PV panel production equipment. However, the latter announced in January it would discontinue its solar equipment operations by the end of March due to the overcapacity within the production equipment segment and the weak business environment.

The merger with Applied Materials is expected to create a chip and display manufacturing technology group valued at USD 29 billion (EUR 21bn). Under the terms of the agreement unveiled in September 2013, once the combination is finalised Applied Materials shareholders will hold about 68% in the new Netherlands-incorporated entity, while Tokyo Electron’s investors will own 32%.

The transaction was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) in February, but is still pending regulatory clearance in certain countries. The US company said it expects the combination to be completed in the second half of the year.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.735)

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