Hans Heijkers schreef op 4 mei 2011 11:17:
Applied Materials Expected to Buy Varian Semiconductor .Article Stock Quotes Comments more in Tech ».EmailPrintSave This ? More.
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Chip-equipment manufacturer Applied Materials Inc. is expected to announce an agreement to acquire Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. for about $5 billion in cash, a person familiar with the matter said, betting that the demand for popular gadgets such as smartphones and energy-efficient technology will drive growth at a combined company.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials is expected to pay $63 a share for Varian, the person said. The price represents a 55% premium to Varian's closing price of $40.55 a share on Tuesday on the Nasdaq stock exchange, giving it a market value of just over $3 billion.
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Michael 'Mike' Splinter, chief executive of Applied Materials.
.Varian shares have climbed 23% during the past year, trading as high as $50.40. Applied Materials shares have climbed 11% in the past 52 weeks.
The transaction is one of the largest recent deals between companies that make equipment used in the manufacture of integrated circuits for electronic devices such as flat-screen TVs and solar panels. Applied Materials, with a market capitalization of more than $20 billion, supplies the highly specialized equipment used in making these chips, which are built on silicon wafers and contain components such as transistors.
Varian designs and makes ion implantation systems, which are used to build the transistors that are the basis of these chips. Chip-gear makers also make the equipment used to cut individual chips from wafers and help in assembling and testing them.
In April, Gloucester, Mass.-based Varian reported that its second-quarter net income jumped to $82.3 million, compared to $38.6 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue increased to $330 million for the second quarter, compared with $204 million a year earlier.
Given the cyclical nature of the chip-making industry, with periodic bouts of oversupply, chip-equipment companies have begun to hedge their bets in recent years, diversifying from making gear just for chips used in computers. One new area is the market for light-emitting diode lighting, which is increasingly used in bulbs for home use, as well as for car indicator lights, traffic signals and back-lit commercial displays. LED lights, which are built on semiconductors, are considered more energy-efficient and longer-lasting than traditional lighting.
With the economic recovery, chip-equipment makers are also expecting their chip-maker customers to upgrade their manufacturing technology and capacity, driven by increasing demand for consumer gadgets. In January, Intel Corp. said it plans to spend $9 billion in capital expenditure this year, including new equipment. Executives at Applied and Varian were both upbeat about the outlook for their industry during recent earnings calls.
Applied will pay nearly 14 times Varian's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, the person familiar with the matter said. The company's expected Ebitda for the 12-month period ending September 30 is $367 million, according to estimates provided by Capital IQ.
Write to Gina Chon at
gina.chon@wsj.com and Anupreeta Das at
anupreeta.das@wsj.com .
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