Tegal Corporation announced this week the sale of its DRIE and related assets to SPP Process Technology Systems (SPTS). Tegal will receive approximately $2.1 million in the transaction, including $1.6 million in cash and the assumption by SPTS of approximately $0.5 million of short-term liabilities. The deal includes the transfer to SPTS of the capital stock and operations of Tegal France SAS, a wholly-owned Tegal subsidiary formed following the acquisition in September 2008 by Tegal of the DRIE assets of Alcatel Micro Machining Systems.
Tegal sold to SPTS the Tegal DRIE products, along with development assets, intellectual property and process know-how. SPTS will provide continued global support to existing Tegal DRIE customers, and will integrate these technologies into its broad range of product offerings in etch, deposition and thermal technologies which it offers to its customers worldwide.
"This acquisition enhances the DRIE product portfolio SPTS offers to our served markets, broadens our customer base, and expands our ability to deliver world class DRIE solutions to our global customers," said William Johnson, President and CEO of SPTS. "We expect to enhance support to Tegal customers through our worldwide support network, and intend to continue the leading-edge development efforts of the former Tegal team in Annecy, France."
SPP Process Technology Systems was established in October 2009 as the vehicle for the merger of Surface Technology Systems and acquired assets of Aviza Technology. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd, and designs, manufactures, sells, and supports advanced semiconductor capital equipment and process technologies for the global semiconductor industry and related markets. These products are used in a variety of market segments, including R&D, data storage, MEMS and nanotechnology, advanced 3-D packaging, LEDs, and power integrated circuits for communications.
"The sale of the DRIE product lines to SPTS represents another major step in Tegal's transformation. We recently announced our participation in the formation of sequel Power, a company dedicated to the development and operation of large scale photovoltaic based solar utilities in the United States, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. From this platform, we intend to build additional operations and make further investments as we transition from being a supplier of semiconductor capital equipment to pursuing a leading role in green energy," said Thomas Mika, President and CEO, Tegal Corporation. "The sale of the DRIE assets to SPTS ensures a smooth transition of our technology, team members, active joint development projects in France, and our commitments to customers globally."
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