Applied Materials buys 9% of BE Semiconductor outstanding shares

Applied Materials (AMAT) announced it has purchased 9% of the outstanding shares of the common stock of BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (BESIY), a manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry. Applied and Besi have been successfully collaborating since 2020, and recently extended their agreement, to co-develop the industry’s first fully integrated equipment solution for die-based hybrid bonding. Hybrid bonding is becoming a critical technology for advanced packaging of semiconductors as designers and manufacturers race to develop more energy-efficient chips. Hybrid bonding connects chips using direct copper-to-copper bonds, which increases density and shortens the lengths of interconnect wiring between chiplets, resulting in improved overall performance, power consumption and cost. “We view this as a strategic, long-term investment that demonstrates Applied Materials’ commitment to co-developing the industry’s most capable hybrid bonding solution, a technology that is becoming increasingly important to the advanced logic and memory chips at the foundation of AI,” said Terry Lee, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Heterogeneous Integration and Packaging at Applied Materials. “We look forward to furthering our collaboration with Besi and delivering innovative technology to our customers.” The investment was made through market-based transactions and is not subject to regulatory approvals. Applied does not intend to seek board representation at Besi, nor does it have plans to purchase additional shares of Besi common stock.