Amkor to Buy Japanese Assembly Business
Online staff -- Electronic News, 1/24/2002
Amkor Technology Inc. is planning to buy the semiconductor assembly division of Citizen Watch Co. Ltd., located in Kitakami, Japan, the companies said today.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the month, but will still be subject to regulatory approval in Japan. Amkor did not disclose the selling price of the business, but said it will make additional payments to Citizen over the next two years that will be determined by revenue.
Citizen’s assembly business operates as a third-party subcontractor, Amkor said, and provides advanced IC packaging for several Japanese semiconductor companies. The company also has a portfolio of packaging IP, specifically BGA packaging technology, that Amkor would also gain in the sale. Amkor, based in Chandler, Ariz., said it plans to hire about 83 Citizen employees.
Citizen Watch’s assembly business is close to Amkor’s Iwate assembly factory, expanding the packaging company’s presence in Japan.
"This transaction strengthens Amkor’s position in providing assembly services to the Japanese semiconductor industry, where the outsourced model is growing," said John Boruch, Amkor’s president and COO, in a statement. "It enhances our existing capabilities in Japan with high-end laminate package technology and an established third-party customer base for advanced package applications."
New Products Fill APEX, But Where are the Buyers?
By Bernard Levine -- Electronic News, 1/24/2002
SAN DIEGO -- Business for semiconductor assembly equipment vendors may be slow, but they had plenty of new products on display this week at the APEX exhibition here in San Diego.
New surface mount placement machines, chip shooters, stencil printers, ovens and other gear filled the halls of the San Diego Convention Center. The show closes today.
Unfortunately, buyers were harder to find. Equipment industry executives manning the exhibit booths said the APEX crowds were thinner than last year’s APEX, held at the same venue. Sales were equally hard to locate.
"Business is slow and utilization of facilities in the U.S. is 70 percent. There is no need for more equipment," said William Rooney, general manager of Panasonic Factory Automation Co., based in Franklin Park, Ill. "If you believe what everybody tells you, it will pick up in the second half. Some contractors have booked orders for the second half, but overall, it is slow."
The worst of the slump is over, according to Scott Wischoffer, applications engineering manager for Fuji America Corp., based in Vernon Hills, Ill.
"Now business will be very slow and steady. The worst is behind us. Hopefully now we are moving forward," Wischoffer said.
Pierre de Villemejane, president of Franklin, Mass.-based Speedline Technologies, said he sees signs the industry is picking up.
"We have seen slight signs of improvement. I’ll emphasize slight," Villemejane said. "We need consumer demand to pick up."
If the upturn doesn’t come in the second half, perhaps it will make it in time for next year’s APEX, which has been slated for March 31-April 2, 2003 in Anaheim, Calif. |
