UPDATE 1-KLA-Tencor withdraws offer for August
Mon Jan 23, 2006 04:45 PM ET
(Adds background, stock prices)
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , a supplier of equipment for making microchips, said on Monday it had withdrawn its $205 million offer to buy August Technology Corp. (AUGT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) .
The announcement sent August stock down nearly 9 percent as it deflated Wall Street expectations of a bidding war between KLA-Tencor and Rudolph Technologies Inc. (RTEC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , which had made a $193 million offer.
August had previously rebuffed KLA and declared its intent to be acquired by Rudolph in a deal the companies said would pose a serious challenge to KLA in the market for semiconductor measurement and test equipment.
Such tools are used to prevent defects in increasingly complex chips. The market for that equipment is more than $4 billion a year and is one of the fastest-growing segments of the semiconductor industry.
Shares in August fell $1.08, or 8.9 percent, to $11 in extended Nasdaq trading. Rudolph shares shed 62 cents, or 4 percent, to $14.85.
KLA said it was disappointed the two companies were unable to enter into substantive discussions and reach an agreement.
KLA and August held secret merger talks in 2003, but those broke off bitterly and August said last year in regulatory filings that KLA had received highly sensitive competitive information during the discussions. |
