Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., and Tokyo Electron Ltd., Japan, announce a definitive agreement to merge into a new company whose name has not been released. This combination brings together complementary leading technologies and products to create an expanded set of capabilities in precision materials engineering and patterning. The companies expect the transaction to close in mid to second half of 2014.
As a clear signal of the commitment to create a new global enterprise, the company will have a new name, dual headquarters in Tokyo and Santa Clara, a dual listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, and will be incorporated in The Netherlands.
The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including approval by Applied Materials’ and Tokyo Electron’s shareholders and review by regulators. The new company will have a shared leadership team. Tetsuro Higashi will serve as Chairman, and Gary Dickerson will serve as Chief Executive Officer. The board will be made up of eleven directors with five directors appointed by each company and one additional director to be mutually agreed upon. Seven of the eleven directors will be independent. Bob Halliday of Applied Materials will serve as Chief Financial Officer.
According to Tetsuro Higashi, Chairman, President and CEO of Tokyo Electron, “Today, we are launching a new company and taking a bold step forward for our industry. Built on a foundation of people, technology and commitment, we are creating a truly global company that we believe will expand the value we deliver to our customers and be able to achieve new levels of financial performance.”
“We are creating a global innovator in precision materials engineering and patterning.” says Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials. “Our new company will have significant opportunities to solve our customers’ high-value problems better, faster and at lower cost.”
