Ommic buy-out team steps out of Philips' shadow
Philips has sold its controlling stake in the French GaAs and InP foundry Ommic in a management-assisted buy-out led by new investor Financière Victoire.
The deal, in which Ommic s senior managers took a very active role and a stake in the company, follows Philips spin-off of its silicon semiconductor business (now known as NXP Semiconductors) in September 2006.
And although Financière Victoire may not be a familiar name as far as high-technology investments are concerned, Ommic CEO Marc Rocchi is excited about the company s future.
"The investors were totally convinced, and we now plan to really grow the company," he said.
III-V RF device manufacturing had long since ceased to be a core part of Philips wider strategic plan, so the sell-off came as little surprise to most. The Dutch electronics giant no longer requires any of the chips made by Ommic, although it has chosen to retain a much smaller share in the foundry.
Clearly now feeling much more in control of Ommic s destiny, Rocchi said, "There is no reason why Europe should be a dwarf in the compound semiconductor business."
He feels that the continent s two major III-V microelectronics fabs - Filtronic and United Monolithic Semiconductors (UMS) "“ both have problems, albeit for different reasons.
Filtronic has been hit by a rapid slackening in demand for its GaAs PHEMT switches, and is now looking to make big cuts and possibly sell its fab (see related story), while Rocchi views UMS as a captive operation, restricted by its EADS Deutschland/Thales ownership.
According to industry insiders, UMS is also capacity-limited at the moment, and has had to offload some manufacturing requirements to alternative foundries.
"Europe needs a more entrepreneurial attitude," Rocchi said, adding that Ommic will be free to concentrate on precise, high-value niche applications. "We re not so concerned with volume "“ [but] we are very concerned with profit. Small can be beautiful."
One of those niche areas that is growing fast at the moment is for 60 GHz E/D-mode PHEMTs, which are increasingly used in phase shifters and phase attenuators for applications such as smart antennae and radar systems used in weather reporting. Rocchi cites Ommic s foundry offering in this sector as world-leading.
Ommic also offers high-indium-content metamorphic GaAs HEMT processing for microwave applications such as security screening equipment, power PHEMTs and more. Its manufacturing service stretches all the way from epitaxy through to final end-user qualification "“ something that the company has dubbed its "Fab+" service.
While Ommic also manufactures InP double HBTs, it has not yet ventured into GaN device processing for RF applications, since Rocchi does not believe there to be much business available currently. However, the company has been working on other GaN applications like power switching, details of which should become clearer over the next couple of months.
Understandably excited about the Ommic team s opportunity to grow, the CEO added: "It s a big success for the management here. The investors have faith in the business, and this deal can only be positive."
