Eugene Technology Inc., a South Korean semiconductor manufacturing equipment company, announced on Thursday its wholly-owned American subsidiary has signed a contract to acquire the ALD and CVD memory product line from Aixtron Inc. for about 63.3 billion won ($56.6 million).

Sunnyvale, California-based Aixtron is well known for its semiconductor processing technology and ventured into the current business sector in 2005 when it acquired Genus, a U.S. supplier of atomic layer deposition (ALD). M&A market watchers pay attention to the deal as it represents a case where a mid-sized Korean company has acquired a business unit from a global enterprise to become more competitive.

On Friday in Seoul trading, the Kosdaq-listed shares of Eugene closed up 9.54 percent at 18,950 won.

The bold M&A deal is based on Eugene’s internal evaluation that the semiconductor market had entered an earlier stage for another boom from rapidly growing demands for cloud computing, self-driving vehicles, artificial intelligence and other major drivers in the fourth industrial revolution, according to the company. Synergy is also expected from the combination of technologies from both companies to develop brand new products.

Founded in 2000, Eugene Technology reported 141 billion won in sales and 36.4 billion won in operating profit last year. It went public on the Kosdaq market in 2006 and it is worth some 400 billion won in terms of market cap at closing on Thursday. Key customers include top memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc.

By Chun Kyung-woon

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