Sumitomo, TPG make $544 million joint bid for Axcelis

12 February 2008

Mumbai: Japan's Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd and private-equity firm TPG have offered to acquire semiconductor equipment maker Axcelis Technologies Inc, for $544 million in cash.

Sumitomo, however, said it is not its final offer, leaving open the option that it could sweeten its $5.20 offer for the chip equipment maker.

Sumito's bid was 29 per cent more than Axcelis's closing price on February 8.

Beverly, Massachusetts-based Axcelis said its board is evaluating the offer.

"We don't know yet, but it was not necessarily our final offer," said Sumitomo spokesman Nobuhiro Kano.

Tokyo-based Sumitomo also rejected the view that it is making a hostile bid for the chip equipment maker.