Versum Materials, an independent electronic materials company previously spun off from Air Products, announced on Monday that it would merge with chemical company Entegris. The $ 9 billion deal is an equivalent merger, and the combined company will be able to provide semiconductor manufacturers driving the digital age with innovative components and chemical processes.
The combined company will retain Entegris' name and will be headquartered in Billerica, Mass., A Boston suburb. Verifi's board chairman and Air Products President and CEO Seifi Ghasemi will become chairman of Entegris-Versum's board of directors after the merger, which is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.
Versum is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona and has approximately 2,200 employees worldwide, including 500 in Lehigh Valley and Rush Township in Schuylkill County. Its main Lehigh Valley office is located on Vultee Street, south of Allentown. As of Friday's close, the company's market capitalization was $ 3.5 billion and revenue for fiscal 2018 was $ 1.4 billion.
Entegris has a market value of $ 4.4 billion and employs approximately 3,500 people. It had revenues of $ 1.6 billion last year. According to the terms of the agreement unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Versum shareholders will receive 1.12 Entegris shares per Versum share. After the merger, Entegris shareholders will own 52.5% of the shares, and Versum Materials shareholders will own 47.5% of the combined company.
Entegris President and CEO Bertrand Loy will lead the combined company. Loy said in a statement on Monday that the merger will put the company in a good position to leverage the expectations of the semiconductor industry for long-term growth. "I have great respect for the Versum Materials team and look forward to us starting a new chapter and creating new value for our shareholders, employees and customers," he said.
To continuously improve speed and reliability, semiconductor companies rely on specialty materials and chemical processes developed by companies such as Versum and Entegris. Versum opened a $ 20 million R & D technology center in its Rush Township campus in April. The park produces a variety of specialty gases and chemicals, including nitrogen trifluoride, clean plasma etching for silicon wafers, and tungsten hexafluoride for the semiconductor industry for thin films. Entegris specializes in technologies such as gas and air purification and filtration equipment to make it easier to package and transport semiconductor wafers and other electronic components. The expertise of these companies is complementary, and the merger will create the world's first comprehensive and effective end-to-end materials solution provider throughout the semiconductor manufacturing process.
Versum President and CEO Guillermo Novo said in a statement: "We are ready to drive further innovation, support our investment in technology, infrastructure and other features that will enable us to better serve our customers and serve our employees Provide more opportunities. "
When Ghasemi took over Air Products in 2014, he decided to refocus on his core business: industrial gases. Air Products completed the spin-off of its electronic materials unit in October 2016 and completed the sale of $ 3.8 billion in performance materials to Evonik a few months later. Versum's second full-year revenue as an independent company increased 20% from the first year. Its shares closed at $ 36.67 on Monday, up nearly 16% from the previous trading day's closing price.
Versum also announced quarterly earnings for the three months ended December 31. The company reported revenue of approximately $ 340 million, net income of approximately $ 60 million, or 55 cents per share, adjusted interest, taxes, depreciation gains and amortization of approximately $ 110 million.