Hermes Microvision Inc (HMI, 漢微科) shareholders yesterday gave the go-ahead to a NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) takeover bid by ASML Holding NV.
Nearly 80 percent of HMI shareholders voted to allow the acquisition, chairman Shu Chin-yung (許金榮) told investors on the sidelines of an extraordinary meeting of shareholders in Hsinchu.
In June, Netherlands-based ASML offered to buy all 71 million capital shares of HMI at NT$1,410 each in cash.
The transaction marks the second-largest acquisition in the nation’s semiconductor industry this year, following US memorychip maker Micron Technology Inc’s NT$130 billion buyout of the remaining 67 percent stake in Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技).
The deal is expected to be completed next quarter at the earliest, if it receives approval from the Fair Trade Commission, as well as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and other government agencies in China and Singapore, Shu said.
Shu said he is optimistic about getting permission to proceed with the deal.
“Our products do not overlap with those of ASML. Instead, we are quite complementary to each other in terms of product lineup, which usually does not raise anti-trust concerns,” he said.
The combination of the two firms would help solve technological challenges for chipmakers, which are developing next-generation 7-nanometer (nm) and 5nm technologies, Shu said.
Hermes Microvision is the world’s largest e-beam semiconductor inspection tool supplier, with an 85 percent share of the global market. The company counts Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) among its major clients.
ASML is the world’s top manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet tools, which are to be used for 7nm and 5nm chip manufacturing, replacing immersion tools.
The transaction would not lead to any job cuts, Shu said, adding that he expects the third quarter to be a busy period for the firm.
The 65-year-old Shu said he plans to retire from his current post after the transaction completes.
HMI shares, which will be delisted from the Taipei Exchange following the completion of the deal, were unchanged at NT$1,355 yesterday.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS