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Nanometrics Incorporated (Nasdaq: NANO), a leading supplier of solutions for advanced process control, today announced the acquisition of Nanda Technologies, GmbH of Munich, Germany.
Nanda has developed a high-throughput, high-sensitivity defect inspection technology for semiconductor manufacturing. With this acquisition, Nanometrics adds a highly differentiated and leading-edge macro defect inspection technology to its portfolio of industry-leading metrology solutions.
Nanda’s proprietary SPARK technology is unique in the semiconductor industry in that it captures full-wafer surface inspection images – at high-volume production speeds– allowing customers to achieve precise wafer inspection and 100% device sampling for today’s most advanced technology nodes. The SPARK platform supports a wide range of surface materials and topographies, and is expected to address a $300 to $400 million served market opportunity that is incremental to the metrology segments currently served by Nanometrics’ optical process control products.
In consideration for the acquisition of Nanda, Nanometrics has paid approximately $23 million in cash. The transaction is expected to have a negative EPS impact of $0.03 to $0.05 for the fourth quarter of 2011, comprised of transaction costs, purchase accounting charges and a partial quarter of Nanda operating expenses. The equity purchase includes facilities, staff, intellectual property, and technology assets, and establishes the SPARK team as the center of excellence for inspection technology within Nanometrics.
Nanda Technologies designs, sells and manufactures fully automated wafer inspection systems used in the semiconductor fabrication process. Based on an innovative full-wafer technology, the Nanda system is able to inspect wafers at extremely high throughput while maintaining the sensitivity required to monitor critical process excursions. Nanda Technologies was founded in 2006 by seasoned executives of the capital metrology equipment industry and is a supplier to semiconductor manufacturers worldwide.