Applied to Buy Edwards Unit
Edwards Ltd. (formerly BOC Edwards), a Wilmington, Mass.-based supplier of vacuum equipment and related products and services to semiconductor and manufacturing industries, announced today it has agreed to divest the majority of its parts-cleaning and chamber process kit management division, Kachina, to Applied Materials Inc., subject to customary closing conditions. Terms were not disclosed.
Included in the transaction are Kachina’s operations at facilities in Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Hillsboro, Ore., and on-site service operations at customer sites in Israel, Ireland, and the state of Virginia. All the assets to be acquired are expected to be integrated within the Applied Global Services organization. Applied currently owns and operates parts-cleaning service facilities throughout North America and in Europe, Israel, Taiwan, Singapore and China. Edwards will retain the operations in France and the UK. The transaction, which is subject to certain closing conditions, is anticipated to close within 30 days.
In a separate transaction, Edwards has sold its shareholding interest in BOC Edwards HTC Ltd., to the other shareholder, Highlight Tech Corp. The business provides parts cleaning services in Taiwan.
Applied said in a statement that the acquisition will complement and expand Applied’s existing Chamber Services network of facilities that provide technology and support for maintaining their chamber components.
“This acquisition will enhance Applied’s position as the leading global service provider of critical parts cleaning, coating, refurbishment and analytical technologies to the semiconductor industry,” said Mark Stark, general manager of Applied’s Fab Operation Services division. “Kachina has more than 15 years of experience and knowledge in parts cleaning and coating and has an excellent reputation with its customers for delivering quality products. Building on our extensive global infrastructure, this strategic investment will add to Applied’s fab-wide service offerings and increase our capacity to deliver world-class chamber performance management to customers internationally.”
Edwards CEP Nigel Hunton said, “The sale of the Kachina parts-cleaning business to Applied Materials, of Santa Clara, Calif., will enable Edwards to focus resources on providing world-leading products and services on either side of the process tool and on the profitable growth of its core vacuum and abatement business.”
Edwards supplies vacuum and abatement equipment and services semiconductor, flat panel display, chemical, metallurgical, analytical instrumentation and R&D markets.
Applied Materials makes equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy-efficient glass.
For more informatio, visit: www.appliedmaterials.com or www.bocedwards.com
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