UnitySC, a French inspection and metrology company, has acquired 100% of the shares of HSEB Dresden, GmbH, a German-based supplier of optical inspection, review and metrology for high-value semiconductor applications.
Headquartered in Montbonnot Saint Martin, in the Grenoble area and the heart of the so-called French Silicon Valley, UnitySC’s facility occupies 20,000 sq ft, half of which is cleanroom space.
Following the acquisition, UnitySC extends its line of process control solutions to provide essential inspection and metrology capability to semiconductor manufacturers. The offering spans substrate, front-end-of-line (FEOL) manufacturing, wafer-level packaging, 3D ICs and power semiconductors. The acquisition also strengthens worldwide customer support for all platforms.
Patrick Leteurtre, president of UnitySC, commented: “Thanks to the proprietary technologies developed by both companies, this strategic acquisition further strengthens our capacity for development and innovation, enabling us to be the preferred partner to meet new customer requirements.”
The combined product portfolio and future common platforms of UnitySC and HSEB will support manufacturing of devices used in mobility, automotive and internet of things applications.
Combined, these markets are expected to reach a 14% CAGR, outpacing the 8% growth forecast of the rest of the semiconductor industry. This will require the expansion and construction of new manufacturing facilities with novel equipment lines.
Cleanroom Technology understands that UnitySC and HSEB products are already in service in the top five foundries and the top 10 OSATs, supported by an experienced service team.
At closing, UnitySC paid an undisclosed fixed price for 100% of the shares of HSEB. Jointly, the two entities achieved a turnover of $20 million in 2017, and recorded $22 million in bookings by the end of February 2018.
In addition to its headquarters, UnitySC operates a sales and technical support office in Taiwan and a software competence centre and customer support in Austin, US.
