Tegal Corporation, (Nasdaq: TGAL) today announced the sale of its Deep Reactive Ion Etch (DRIE) and certain related assets to SPP Process Technology Systems Ltd (SPTS). Tegal will receive aggregate consideration of approximately $2.1 million, including $1.6 million in cash and the assumption by SPTS of approximately $0.5 million of short-term liabilities. The deal includes the transfer to SPTS of the capital stock and operations of Tegal France SAS, a wholly-owned Tegal subsidiary formed following the acquisition in September 2008 by Tegal of the DRIE assets of Alcatel Micro Machining Systems.
Tegal sold to SPTS the Tegal 200™, 110™, 3200™ and 4200™ series DRIE products, along with its Compact™ and Pluto development assets, intellectual property and process know-how. SPTS will provide continued global support to existing Tegal DRIE customers, and will integrate these technologies into its broad range of product offerings in etch, deposition and thermal technologies which it offers to its customers worldwide.
“The sale of the DRIE product lines to SPTS represents another major step in Tegal’s transformation. We recently announced our participation in the formation of sequel Power, a company dedicated to the development and operation of large scale photovoltaic (PV)-based solar utilities in the United States, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. From this platform, we intend to build additional operations and make further investments as we transition from being a supplier of semiconductor capital equipment to pursuing a leading role in green energy,” said Thomas Mika, President and CEO, Tegal Corporation. “The sale of the DRIE assets to SPTS ensures a smooth transition of our technology, team members, active joint development projects in France, and our commitments to customers globally.”
“This acquisition enhances the DRIE product portfolio SPTS offers to our served markets, broadens our customer base, and expands our ability to deliver world class DRIE solutions to our global customers,” said William Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of SPTS. “We expect to enhance support to Tegal customers through our worldwide support network, and intend to continue the leading-edge development efforts of the former Tegal team in Annecy, France.
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