Wafer probe card tech firm FormFactor has announced its $117m acquisition of wafer-test probe card manufacturer MicroProbe, backed by Intel’s corporate venturing unit,.
The merger deal, agreed with MicroProbe’s parent company Astria Semiconductor Holdings, will see FormFactor provide $100m in cash and a further $16.8m in stock. Calif.-based MicroProbe generated $87.3m in revenue last year, growing 46% year-on-year.
MicroProbe is backed Intel Capital and venture firms Flywheel Ventures and Gemini Investors.
FormFactor, also based in California, expects the merger to have several benefits; the most significant of which is that FormFactor will become the industry leading supply in the consistently growing probe card market. The firm also expects a highly improved financial performance in 2013, as well as a technological edge over its competitors.
“This merger is a transformational event for FormFactor and I look forward to working with Mike Slessor and the MicroProbe team to create the leading probe card company in the semiconductor industry,” said Tom St. Dennis, chief executive officer of FormFactor. “FormFactor and MicroProbe customers will benefit since the combined company will have the technology and resources to address semiconductor test requirements across the entire advanced probe card space.”
“I’m very excited about the combination of MicroProbe and FormFactor,” said Mike Slessor, CEO of MicroProbe. “This merger enables our world-class teams to accelerate innovation in wafer test across our customer base and provides compelling opportunities for our combined employees.”