ATMI sells silicon epitaxy business to IR
IR will pay ATMI up to $41 million in cash for the operations and assets of the Epi Services group, which is located in Mesa, Arizona. The deal, which is expected to close in the September quarter, includes related intellectual property, fixed assets, and inventory. Approximately 90 employees will join IR as part of the agreement.
This represents the third business related to epitaxial materials that ATMI has sold in the space of just over a year. In fall 2002, the company stopped production at its GaAs epiwafer facility in Phoenix, Arizona, and later sold the business to Sumika Electronic Materials (see Sumitomo Chemical buys ATMI GaAs epi business).
Then, in April 2004, ATMI sold its GaN epitaxy and substrates business based in Danbury, Connecticut, to LED manufacturer Cree (see Cree completes ATMI GaN buy-out for $10.25m).
International Rectifier has been a major customer of ATMI s specialty epitaxial services for several years, and has clearly decided that it needed to purchase a business that ATMI had already discontinued.
"The Epi Services employees are very familiar with IR s needs and requirements," said Gene Banucci, ATMI s CEO. "The employees are going to reap the advantages of joining a world leader devoted to advanced power management products that require specialty epitaxial steps."
"This group has provided excellent service to us over the years, and we are excited to have these employees join the IR team," said Alex Lidow, CEO of IR. "They will bring innovative knowledge and expertise in specialty silicon and SiGe epitaxy, as well as key intellectual property for improving epitaxy deposition throughput and lowering production costs."
Dan Sharkey, ATMI s chief financial officer, said that ATMI will record a slight gain on its balance sheet after disposing of the discontinued operation. IR expects the acquisition to be accretive within the first 12 months.
