ASM’s current market value is approximately $4.2 billion. It’s plan to go private might cost investors approximately $3.2 billion
Hong Kong-listed semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASM Pacific Technology Ltd is in talks with potential investors. The move might be in the direction to help take the company take the private roue. Reuters was first to report the developments citing people who did not wish to be named.
ASM. as per the report, is aiming to relist itself on Shanghai’s STAR Market. The latter is similar to like Nasdaq and BSE. While the company’s parent organization supports the move, it will not divest its stake from the same. Dutch chip make ASM International holds around 25 per cent in the company.
ASM’s current market value is approximately $4.2 billion. It’s plan to go private might cost investors approximately $3.2 billion. The company has denied any plans of going private.
Singapore-headquartered ASM claims that it is the only company in the world offering equipment for all major steps involved in the electronics manufacturing process. It mentions to supply equipment from carrier for chip interconnection to chip assembly and packaging to image result for surface-mount technology (SMT).
Rise in global fab equipment spending
SEMI, in its latest report, has noted that the CoronaVirus is driving the rise in global fab equipment spending. China, as per the report, accounts for most of the new projects.
The bullish trend for overall fab equipment investments, as per SEMI, comes as the semiconductor industry recovers from a nine per cent decline in fab spending in 2019 and navigates a roller-coaster 2020 with actual and projected spending drops in the first and third quarters mixed with second- and fourth-quarter increases.
“Of all chip sectors, memory will see the largest spending increase in 2020, growing US$3.7 billion, or 16 per cent year-over-year (YoY), to US$26.4 billion, and tack on an 18 per cent increase to reach US$31.2 billion in 2021. 3D NAND spending will log the largest percentage surge this year, expanding 39 per cent, and register modest growth of seven per cent in 2021. DRAM is expected to see four per cent growth after a slowdown in the second half of 2020 before jumping 39 per cent percent next year,” read the report.
