news review
Bruker buy Veeco Metrology Business for $229 Million Cash
VEECO INSTRUMENTS has agreed to sell its Metrology business to Bruker Corporation, a leading provider of high- performance scientific instruments and solutions for molecular and materials research, for $229 million in cash. The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010, pending regulatory review and subject to customary closing conditions.
The sale will transfer Veeco’s worldwide Metrology business to Bruker, including Veeco’s Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) business in Santa Barbara, CA and its Optical Industrial Metrology (OIM) business in Tucson, AZ, as well as Veeco’s associated global AFM/OIM field sales and support organization.
We believe the sale of Metrology will allow us to accelerate our progress developing new products, gaining share, and aligning with key customers in markets with large growth opportunities, including several “clean tech” markets. The sale is also expected to give us additional financial flexibility to pursue acquisitions and expand customer support for our growing Asia business.”
Peeler continued, “Veeco Metrology is a great business that is strong, growing and profitable and has many exciting new products. Even so, it lacks meaningful synergies with our Process Equipment businesses in technology, distribution and customers. We believe it will be a better fit as part of a large and successful instrumentation company, such as Bruker, where the focus will be on continued development of innovative scientific instruments. We have great confidence that the Metrology business will continue to grow and prosper as part of Bruker.”
Bruker intends to combine Veeco Metrology with its global Bruker Nano instruments business, which currently sells a broad range of systems and analytical solutions for materials and nanotechnology research. Veeco currently expects cash proceeds from the transaction to be approximately $160 million net of estimated applicable taxes and transaction fees. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Citigroup Global Markets acted as exclusive financial advisor to Veeco in connection with the transaction.
John R. Peeler, Veeco’s CEO, commented: “Following the sale of Metrology, Veeco expects to benefit from greater focus on and investment in our LED & Solar and Data Storage Process Equipment businesses.
Frank H. Laukien, Bruker’s President and CEO added, “We are excited to add Veeco’s industry-leading scanning probe microscope (SPM) and optical metrology systems to the Bruker product portfolio of high-performance materials research and nanotechnology instruments. We very much look forward to welcoming the customers, management and employees of the Veeco Metrology business to Bruker after the closing of the transaction.”
Veeco will account for the Metrology business segment as a “discontinued operation” effective August 15, 2010. Veeco is therefore updating guidance for third quarter 2010 revenue from continuing operations to be in the range of $255-280 million, with GAAP earnings per share between $1.45 and $1.72 and non-GAAP EPS between $1.13 and $1.33.
Without Metrology, Veeco’s updated guidance is that 2010 revenues from continuing operations will be approximately $1 billion, with about 90% from the LED & Solar business segment.
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net August / September 2010
BluGlass and GaN/InGaN RPCVD system
BLUGLASS of Sydney, Australia, which has developed patented GaN-on-glass LED technology, has completed the design, installation and commissioning of its fifth-generation RPCVD system. The latest addition combines the best features of the firm’s prototype third- and fourth-generation tools.
Bluglass is a spin off from the III-nitride department of Macquarie University and was established in 2005. The firm has developed a low-temperature process using RPCVD to grow materials including gallium nitride (GaN) and indium gallium nitride (InGaN) on glass substrates. These are primarily used for LED production, with what is reckoned to be significant low-cost potential and inherent scalability.
Also, in May 2009, BluGlass said that it intended to develop high-efficiency group III-nitride solar cells as a supplementary market for its RPCVD technology. Construction of the new tool was enabled as part of the $4.95m grant awarded in June last year under the Commonwealth Government’s Climate Ready program for its ‘High Efficiency Thin Film Solar Cell Project’.
“Not only is this the most advanced and flexible deposition platform that the company has installed to date, but importantly this new-breed RPCVD machine will enable our technology team to deliver optimal process control and, we believe, high-quality single-crystal material,” says Chief Technology Officer Ian Mann.
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