Semiconductors, chips, Manufacturing

Axcelis Evaluating Sumitomo Bid

Wade Roush 2/11/08

Beverly, MA-based Axcelis, a maker of equipment for ion implantation, thermal curing, and other phases of semiconductor manufacturing—and one of the largest woman-led technology companies in Massachusetts—said in an announcement today that its board is reviewing an unsolicited takeover bid from Sumitomo Heavy Industries of Japan. It noted that the proposed takeover price of $5.20 per share or $544 million is 10 percent below Axcelis’s average closing price over the last 52 weeks. Sumitomo and Axcelis are the joint owners of Tokyo-based SEN Corporation, the leading manufacturer of ion implantation systems for Japanese semiconductor manufacturers, and have been locked in arbitration proceedings over SEN’s future direction.

Wade Roush is Xconomy's chief correspondent. You can e-mail him at wroush@xconomy.com, call him at (617) 252-7323, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wroush.