October 16, 2024

Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Head Office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and CEO: Shinji Shimomura; hereinafter “SHI”) has today announced the acquisition of a leading European semiconductor business to strengthen its presence in the rapidly growing semiconductor market.

SHI has entered into a share purchase agreement with SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture; Representative Director, President: Akihiko Okamoto; hereinafter “SCREEN SPE”) to acquire 100% of shares in Laser Systems & Solutions of Europe SASU (France; hereinafter “LASSE”), a subsidiary of SCREEN SPE that operates a semiconductor manufacturing equipment business.
The transfer of shares from SCREEN SPE to SHI is scheduled for November 2024.

[Background of Acquisition of Shares]
In the Medium-Term Management Plan 2026, which started in 2024, we have designated the “semiconductor field” as one of the priority investment areas that will drive our growth, and are working to promote the development of next-generation models designed for market expansion and change, and to expand sales channels on a global basis.

Laser annealing equipment belonging to Mechatronics segment (*) is mainly used in the manufacturing process of power semiconductors, and holds the largest share of the domestic market in this field. Demand for power semiconductors is expected to increase in the future, backed by the expansion of electric vehicles, a major application of power semiconductors.

LASSE is a wholly owned subsidiary of SCREEN SPE, a semiconductor manufacturing equipment company, and develops, manufactures, and sells laser annealing equipment and has established a global network with customers. LASSE also possesses proprietary laser oscillator technology and is conducting joint research and development of laser annealing technology in the semiconductor manufacturing process with public research institutions.

Currently, semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturers are required to provide products and services without delay to semiconductor manufacturers that are expanding globally.

By welcoming LASSE, which has strong relationships with power semiconductor manufacturers in Europe, into our group, we plan to leverage our mutually complementary relationship in sales, service, and R&D to ensure our competitive advantages in power semiconductors and, at the same time, to expand our sales and marketing activities by leveraging LASSE's customer and development networks.
By combining the management resources of both LASSE and SHI, we will expand our business range globally and contribute to the growth of the semiconductor industry.

(*) In the previous Medium-Term Management Plan, we divided the business segments into four, taking into account the compatibility among products and technologies of group companies. Mechatronics segment consists of the gear reducer business, which mainly handles gear reducers, and the mechatronics business, which handles semiconductor-related products.