ASML, aiming at 70% litho share, mulls buys
Peter Clarke
EE Times
(03/07/2006 7:48 AM EST)
LONDON — Dutch lithography equipment maker ASML Holding NV, while aiming at 70 percent market share in its core business, “needs to develop outside lithography” and is considering several acquisition opportunities according to a Dow Jones Newswires report, which cited CEO Eric Meurice as its source.
The acquisition targets could have annual sales of as much as 500 million euros (about $600 million) the report said and quoted Meurice saying, “We're looking at some business plans now.” The report said that ASML (Veldhoven, The Netherlands) has about 1 billion euros (about $1.2 billion) in cash ready to fund one or more acquisitions.
During the recession in semiconductor equipment purchasing that followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble, ASML disposed of a major business unit to focus on lithography. While ASML remains a world-leader for that type of equipment analysts have questioned the sector’s growth prospects. The disposal was under the previous ASML CEO, Doug Dunn, who retired and was replaced by Meurice in October 2004.
Meurice said he wants ASML to achieve a 70 percent share of the market for lithography equipment by 2010 but added that ASML should get into other equipment sectors to support its lithography aspirations, the report said.
By way of an example Meurice said ASML could buy a company making equipment for the packaging of semiconductors, but he declined to identify any possible acquisition targets, the report said.
ASML was expected to enter the market for display making equipment in 2005 but called the move off in July 2005, saying it saw better investment opportunities elsewhere. "We will monitor the volume curve [for LCD equipment] and continue to do the basic work in R&D as we have done over last two years or so," Meurice told analysts at the time.
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