Loctite Acquires Multicore Rocky Hill, Conn.-Loctite Corp., through its parent Henkel KGaA of Dusseldorf, Germany, has acquired Multicore Solders of Richardson, Texas. In a recent announcement, Loctite said both companies will operate as "distinct and separate" firms. "However, cooperation has already commenced in overlapping areas of product development." Loctite says that Multicore is the world's third largest soldering materials company. Loctite supplies surface mount adhesives, underfills and other materials. Its parent, Henkel, is a chemical company with $12 billion in sales and 70,000 employees. Neu Dynamics' Growth Plans Ivyland, Pa.-Kevin Harsoe, business manager of Neu Dynamics, has completed the purchase of the company from Karl Neu, who started the Ivyland firm in 1972. Neu Dynamics provides tooling and dies to semiconductor makers and Hartsoe says the company will expand its product range. Tessera Claims Sharp, TI Infringed its CSP Patents San Jose-Tessera Inc., developer and licensor of the (BGA CSP has filed suits against Japan's Sharp and Texas Instruments for patent infringement. The company said it is seeking relief through both the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Federal District Court in California.
The San Jose-based company is also alleging that Sharp is shipping flash memory chips in a package incorporating Tessera's patents for which Sharp does not have a license. Dr. Tom Di Stefano, Tessera founder and former vice president of marketing and CTO, would not comment on the litigation. ChipCoolers Inc. Splits into Separate Corporations Warwick, R.I.-ChipCoolers, a maker of thermal cooling products for ICs, has split the management of its three product divisions into separate corporations. The company's three divisions: commercial handles, CoolSnap heatsinks and CoolPoly thermal polymer composites, are now Handles Unlimited, ChipCool Inc. and Cool Polymers Inc., respectively. With the reorganization, ChipCoolers Inc. became the parent company. Credence to Acquire TMT Inc. of Sunnyvale Fremont, Calif.-ATE maker Credence Systems Corp. has signed a letter of intent to acquire TMT Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., for $80 million in cash. TMT, which supplies test equipment for the communications IC market, posted revenues of $13 million in its first fiscal quarter ended January 31. The Sunnyvale company employs over 100 people and has been in business since 1991. Thomas Garza, TMT chairman and founder, said, "After achieving our goal of becoming a leader in low-cost ATE solutions, we now need the critical mass to support our growth golas..." Amkor Signs Technology Transfer for Flex-on-Cap West Chester, Pa.-Amkor Technology Inc., headquartered here, has signed a 10-year technology transfer agreement for flex-on-cap (FOC) wafer bumping and redistribution technologies with Flip Chip Technologies, Phoenix, Ariz. Flip Chip Technologies is majority owned by Kulicke & Soffa of Willow Grove, Pa. Amkor earlier announced plans to add wafer bumping to its Korean manufacturing facilities in response to a growing demand for flip-chip packages. The IC packaging giant currently outsources wafer bumping for high-performance flip-chip packages through FCT's Phoenix-based facilities. Amkor Technology Inks Agreement to Buy Anam Semiconductor's Plants
West Chester, Pa.-Amkor Technology Inc. has reached a final agreement with Anam Semiconductor Inc. (ASI) to acquire the latter's three remaining packaging and test plants (K1, K2 and K3) in Korea. The transaction, which includes $950 million to buy the ASI buildings and an investment of $459 million in new ASI shares, totals about $1.4 billion. In connection with the agreement, ASI's creditor banks will convert 150 billion Korean Won (approximately $132 million) of ASI debt into newly issued ASI shares. When the acquisition is completed, expected by the end of Q2, Amkor will own seven chip packaging and test facilities consisting of more than 3.5 million square feet of existing manufacturing and support space. An additional one million square feet of manufacturing space is available for expansion. Last year, according to an Amkor announcement, ASI's seven factories packaged about 4.1 billion ICs, representing about 6% of the world's consumption of ICs. Amkor said it will fund the transaction with $410 million in private equity capital, already under agreement, plus debt. Upon completion of the transaction, Amkor will own about 42% of ASI, whose principal operating asset is a world-class wafer foundry located in Buchon, Korea. The K1, K2 and K3 plants employ some 6,600 people. Last year, these facilities assembled more than 1.2 billion ICs. According to Amkor, these plants contributed about $785 million of Amkor's $1.6 billion in packaging and test revenue. IC Packaging Foundry Abpac Inc. Closes Phoenix, Ariz.-Abpac Inc., the IC packaging foundry specializing in BGAs founded by industry veteran Robert C. Marrs, is no more. The facility was shuttered in late January as the firm collapsed, apparently unable to make its payroll. Marrs opened Abpac (Advanced Bga PACkaging) in November 1996, after leaving Amkor Technology in nearby Scottsdale, where he was corporate vice president for advanced product operations.
By last November, rumors of Abpac's impending fall had become rife. When Chip Scale Review contacted Marrs a week before the sudden closure, he declined to elaborate on Abpac's condition, but hinted at talks with an unnamed company that would result in Abpac's acquisition. Attempts to reach him for comment after the shutdown were unsuccessful.
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