Advanced Thermal Readies Stock Offer
Advanced Thermal Technologies Inc., an Anaheim designer of temperature control systems for semiconductor manufacturing, said Wednesday it is planning to go public with an initial stock sale worth as much as $44 million.
The company plans to offer 4 million shares for $9 to $11 a share, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the shares sell at the middle of the range, $10 each, the stock sale would raise $40 million.
Advanced Thermal is a unit of B/E Aerospace Inc., a Wellington, Fla., company that manufactures seats and galley systems like coffee makers and ovens for commercial airline cabins.
B/E Aerospace will own 88% of the voting power of Advanced Thermal common stock after the initial public offering, the filing said.
B/E Aerospace shares rose $1.38 Wednesday to close at $13.88 in Nasdaq trading, a gain of 11%. Shares have risen more than 64% since the beginning of the year.
The market for semiconductor manufacturing equipment is projected to be $30.3 billion this year, according to research firm Dataquest, cited in Advanced Thermal’s SEC filing.
Sales of temperature control systems for semiconductor manufacturing will exceed $200 million this year, the research group said. The company is also estimating that the retrofit market for temperature devices could be as many as 50,000 systems worth as much as $1.5 billion, the filing said.
For its fiscal year, which ended Feb. 26, Advanced Thermal had a net loss of $1.7 million on revenue of $6.8 million. For the previous fiscal year, it lost $2.1 million on revenue of $517,000. Almost all of its sales have been generated from one customer, Applied Materials Inc. in Santa Clara, the company said in its filing.
“Any decreases in purchases by Applied Materials would substantially harm our business and operating results,” the company said in its filing.
Advanced Thermal said it will compete directly with Neslab Instruments Inc., FTS Systems Inc., as well as British Oxygen Corp. and SMC Corp. in Tokyo.
Advanced Thermal said it will use the net proceeds from the stock sale, estimated at $35.7 million if sold at $10 a share, for general corporate purposes, including $15 million to repay B/E Aerospace loans and pay for proprietary technology.
The company will be headed by Amin Khoury, 61, Advanced Thermal’s chief executive and chairman. He also is chairman and founder of B/E Aerospace. He holds a 1.5% stake in Advanced Thermal before the offering.
Needham & Co. Inc., A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. and First Security Van Kasper will underwrite the stock sale. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker ATTI.
