Dutch lithography company takes over US group

17 Jun 2002

ASM Lithography of the Netherlands and Silicon Valley Group Inc in the US have announced today that they have signed a definitive merger agreement, whereby ASML will acquire SVG in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately Euro 1.8billion (USD 1.6 billion). The boards of each company have unanimously approved the transaction, which will be immediately accretive (earnings positive) to ASML earnings.

The combination creates the world's number-one provider of lithography equipment to the semiconductor industry. It also extends ASML's product offerings to include SVG's outstanding photoresist track and thermal-product lines. The lithography-equipment sector is growing at a compounded annual-growth rate of 30% and is expected to reach Euro 8.7 billion (USD7.7 billion) by 2002 (source: Dataquest).

Under the terms of the merger agreement, SVG will become a wholly owned subsidiary of ASML.

Doug Dunn, chief executive officer of ASML, said: "This acquisition is an excellent strategic fit with little overlap. It is consistent with our mission of providing leading-edge imaging solutions on a continuous basis to improve our customers' global competitiveness. The addition of SVG is a tremendous opportunity to enhance our technology potential and leverage future R&D efforts in next-generation technologies."

Dunn continued: "By combining the core competencies of SVG's speed to the market of new advanced technologies and ASML's ability to introduce and ramp-up production of best-in-class volume-production tools, the new entity will be even better positioned to deliver the most advanced semiconductor technology to the greatest number of customers worldwide. Furthermore, the combination of the strong optical expertise of ASML's long-term strategic partner, Carl Zeiss, and SVG's significant optical capabilities, creates an optical partnership with mutual benefits for all of the parties involved and will provide customers with the most competitive products well into the future."