ASML to Buy Hermes Microvision for About $3.09 Billion

By Josh Beckerman

ASML Holding NV, which provides chip-manufacturing equipment to companies like Intel Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., has agreed to buy Taiwan-based pattern verification systems company Hermes Microvision Inc. for about 100 billion New Taiwan dollars (about US$3.09 billion).

ASML said the deal enhances its "holistic lithography" operations, which refers to the combination of scanner, metrology and software products.

The per-share price of 1,410 New Taiwan dollars offers a 31% premium to Hermes Microvision's 30-day volume-weighted average price, ASML said.

ASML said "our two companies have worked together for almost two years to see how we could best combine our capabilities, and found that we could significantly improve this constructive cooperation and better serve our customer by teaming up as one company."

Hermes-Epitek Corp. and certain Hermes Microvision officers have agreed to invest some of their proceeds in ASML after the sale, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Fitch Ratings said in January that ASML's investments in extreme ultraviolet lithography and holistic lithography were likely to strengthen its leading market position and improve its growth profile.

ASML's acquisitions have included a 2013 deal for Cymer Inc., a cash-and-stock transaction initially valued at about $2.6 billion.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 15, 2016 20:43 ET (00:43 GMT)

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