New owner for Atotech

MKS Instruments of Andover, Massachusetts, has agreed to acquire advanced electroplating company Atotech. The $16.20/share deal gives Atotech an enterprise value of about $6.5 billion. Private equity firm Carlyle Group, which currently owns 79% of Atotech, has committed to vote in favour. The transaction should be completed in Q4, subject to regulatory approval in Jersey, where Atotech is registered, and other customary closing conditions.

MKS said that Atotech’s process chemistry capabilities will be combined with its own in lasers, optics and motion for applications in next-generation advanced electronics. Particular advantages are seen in terms of optimising the PCB Interconnect that is crucial to the challenges of miniaturisation.

Berlin-based Atotech has a global network of 17 sites, including eight in Asia. Earlier this year, it officially opened a new manufacturing facility at Yangzhou, China, housing 14 production vessels with 27,000 tonnes/year of capacity. Key features at this site include a manufacturing execution system, auto-stop-filling mechanisms and a wastewater system that combines precipitation, evaporation and biological treatment in ways that keep discharges significantly below industry levels.

Also inaugurated this year was the Atotech Development Centre at Manesar in India Covering 20,000 m2, this is the largest technical centre of its kind in India, containing 17 fully automated plating lines and 39 high-end laboratories. The company said that it serves as a global hub for its development, testing and qualification of surface finishing products.