Sematech Seeks to Block Sale to Japan Firm
Calling it a “tremendous blow” to U.S. competitiveness, high-technology research consortium Sematech has launched a campaign to block the sale of a small semiconductor equipment company to a Japanese firm.
Sematech officials said they would ask federal regulators to reject the sale of Semi-Gas Systems Inc. of San Jose to Nippon-Sanso of Tokyo. The deal must face U.S. government approval on antitrust and national security grounds.
Semi-Gas is the world’s leading maker of gas containment systems used in the manufacturing of semiconductors. Last week, parent company Hercules Corp. of Wilmington, Del., announced plans to sell the company to Nippon-Sanso for a reported $23 million.
“We’d be extremely disappointed to see a strong, viable company like Semi-Gas, which is competing very well in Japan . . . sold to the Japanese,” Sematech spokesman Joe Stroop said.
But Stroop said the consortium could do little to block the sale except make its views known to officials in Washington.
The proposed deal is the latest to spark controversy over the sale of U.S. technology companies to the Japanese. Last year, five U.S. electronics companies joined forces in a consortium to keep the semiconductor equipment division of Perkin-Elmer Corp. from being sold to a Japanese buyer.
Industry leaders have warned that vital U.S. defense interests could be at stake if the U.S. chip toolmaking industry were to fall under foreign control. Semiconductors are critical components of computers and military systems.
Sematech was founded in 1987 to ensure continued U.S. competitiveness in semiconductor manufacturing in the face of increased competition from Japan.
A spokesman for the Austin, Tex., group said it attempted to persuade federal officials that the sale of Semi-Gas would significantly weaken U.S. competitiveness in a critical part of the semiconductor manufacturing process.
If the sale of Semi-Gas goes through, Sematech will cancel a development agreement it has with Semi-Gas because of fears that proprietary technology could be transferred to the Japanese, Stroop said.
