Asyst shares rise after Gores reveals overtures
Shares of Asyst Technologies Inc. rose 14% on Monday after private-equity firm Gores Group revealed it had offered to acquire the semiconductor-equipment maker for $298 million.
A letter sent Feb. 1 to Asyst and made public Monday outlined Gores’ proposal to pay as much as $6 a share for the Fremont, Calif.-based company. Asyst rejected that offer and another made in December, Westwood-based Gores said.
Gores released the letter after Asyst’s board declined to discuss the offer. The company told Gores, which has teamed up with Aquest Systems Corp., that it expected to increase its share price beyond the proposed bid, according to people familiar with the offers.
“Aquest and Gores are releasing the letter so that Asyst’s shareholders are aware of the proposal and are in a position to evaluate the potential benefits of such a transaction,” Gores said in a statement.
Asyst’s shares climbed 50 cents to $4.14. The stock has fallen 44% over the last year.
Gores, which has $1.3 billion to invest, typically targets technology and communications companies. The firm, founded in 1987 by Alec Gores, last year bought Compudyne Corp., a maker of security systems for prisons, for $59 million and Tyco Electronics Ltd.’s power-systems unit for $100 million.
Aquest is a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip-equipment maker whose chief executive, Mihir Parikh, is a founder and former CEO of Asyst. Aquest’s investors include Menlo Ventures, the Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture-capital firm formed in 1976 that raised a $1.2-billion fund in 2005.
Asyst’s products are used by chip makers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest maker of chips for other companies.
Separately, Westwood One Inc., the syndicator of radio programming, said it received an investment of as much as $100 million from Gores Group.
The investment is subject to the closing of distribution and advertising agreements between Westwood One and CBS Radio Inc., New York-based Westwood said.
Gores will buy $12.5 million of Westwood One common stock at $1.75 a share, with the option to buy additional stock, according to the statement. Westwood One said it expected the purchase to close along with the CBS Radio agreements perhaps by Friday.
