Irvine, CA., April 21, 2003. Newport has invested $3.5 million to acquire 19.9% of NEXX Systems, Inc., a privately owned developer and manufacturer of flip chip processing equipment for back-end semiconductor manufacturing, headquartered in Wilmington, MA. Newport acquired a combination of common and preferred stock in the transaction as well as receiving other rights, including one seat on the company's board of directors.
As part of the transaction, Newport will become the preferred provider to NEXX of certain components and subsystems, such as wafer handling robots and load ports. Newport and NEXX will also engage in collaborative development, integration, and marketing of their flip chip processing solutions.
Robert G. Deuster, president and chief executive officer of Newport, said "NEXX provides very innovative and cost-effective platforms focused on several of the process steps in flip chip packaging, including wafer metallization, electroplating, photoresist deposition and stripping, and related technologies. NEXX is an excellent complementary fit with Micro Robotics Systems, Inc. (MRSI), which we acquired in February of 2002. MRSI is a leading provider of high-precision, fully automated die attach, bonding, and underfill systems for flip chip and wafer level semiconductor packaging applications."
"NEXX complements Newport's strong product offering for these applications, which are among the fastest growing areas of semiconductor manufacturing. This growth results from the very strong adoption rates of handheld devices such as wireless PDAs, laptops, and cellular phones, which increasingly incorporate system-on-a-chip package designs, and chip scale packaging methods to enable reductions in device sizes and improvements in device performance. This investment represents further execution of our strategy to provide our current and future customers with high-performance, cost-effective solutions for the critical steps in the flip chip and wafer level semiconductor packaging processes," added Deuster.
NEXX chairman and chief executive officer Richard Post added, "We are very pleased to partner with Newport and are confident this relationship will further our goal of becoming the leading process equipment company for flip chip and advanced packaging technology."
NEXX Systems designs, develops, and manufactures technologically advanced solutions for the semiconductor advanced packaging, telecommunications, and optoelectronics markets. NEXX Systems' products provide established platforms specifically focused on flip chip and advanced packaging, including wafer metallization, CVD, and etch technologies.
Additional information can be found at: www.nexxsystems.com
Laser Focus World