INDUSTRY NEWS

EXPANSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

'Turnkey' Trimega emerges

A new joint venture called Trimega offers a range of high-purity turnkey services to chipmakers. Air Products and Chemicals and The Kinetics Group each have a 50% stake in the business, which began operating in April. The partners claim the venture is the first to offer a combination of turnkey chemical, gas, water, and waste treatment services. Based in Santa Clara, CA, the company will integrate Air Products' capabilities as a supplier of gases and chemicals with Kinetics' experience as a supplier of piping and materials delivery systems. Kinetics claims the merger will provide single-source accountability and point-of-use guarantees. A subsidiary of U.S. Filter, Kinetics makes gas, chemical, and slurry delivery systems, as well as wastewater treatment technology. Trimega will target both new and retrofit fabs. The partners have held discussions since November 1998.

U.S. Filter set for merger

The proposed merger of the French firm Vivendi and U.S. Filter of Palm Desert, CA, is expected to have no immediate effect on U.S. Filter's semiconductor-related operations. Vivendi is poised this month to complete what both companies are calling the largest acquisition in the United States by a French company. Paris-based Vivendi, a provider of environmental services, specializes in water treatment and distribution services through its subsidiary Générale des Eaux. The French company will pay approximately $6.2 billion for U.S. Filter in a two-step cash transaction. The completed acquisition will nearly double the parent company's annual revenues based on combined sales of approximately $12 billion.

"It's just an enhanced match and an incredible added value to U.S. Filter," says Veronica Karnig, director of marketing for The Kinetics Group, a U.S. Filter subsidiary specializing in high-purity piping. Vivendi, Karnig notes, has no presence in the high-purity water services market. The merger "is not having any immediate effect on Kinetics," she notes, adding that the acquisition will broaden the geographic reach of U.S. Filter. Founded in 1853, Générale des Eaux started out in Paris as a private firm supplying water to cities throughout France and has since gone on to become a global supplier of water treatment and distribution services. U.S. Filter also owns Memtec, a subsidiary that produces advanced microfilters. Pending U.S. and EU regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close this month.

W-J pursues partial sale

Watkins-Johnson (W-J) will sell most assets of its semiconductor equipment group to Silicon Valley Group (SVG) under the terms of a nonbinding letter of intent signed in March. If the transaction is approved, SVG will acquire the business associated with atmospheric-pressure CVD technology as well as land in Scotts Valley, CA, and Kawasaki, Japan. W-J plans to sell its high-density plasma CVD equipment and intellectual property assets separately. The company is pursuing the sale in order to "maximize value for Watkins-Johnson shareowners." W-J has agreed not to discuss the sale of other assets with third parties during a period of due diligence. SVG believes the acquisition will strengthen its position in the thin-film market. The vendor manufactures a line of products that includes photolithography tools, photoresist processing equipment, and low-pressure CVD systems. Completion of the sale awaits shareholder and regulatory approval.

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