Oerlikon Solar to be sold to Tokyo Electron

Oerlikon Solar is being sold to Japan’s leading semiconductor equipment supplier, Tokyo Electron Ltd.

TEL had been a sales representative in Asia for Oerlikon Solar's thin-film technology.

The Oerlikon Group wants to focus on other engineering divisions as part of revenue growth avenues and decided to sell the profit-losing Oerlikon Solar, Vthe originator of the turnkey thin-film business model with a-Si and tandem-junction thin-film technology.

The deal is expected to be concluded over the next few months with more details to be provided on Monday when quarterly results are reported. Financial details were not disclosed.

"This divestment is an important part of our strategy to streamline and balance the Group portfolio,” commented Dr Michael Buscher, CEO of Oerlikon Group. “TEL is an ideal strategic buyer for our solar business. Its main operations are close to the predominantly Asian customer base and having had a partnership with them for three years, they know our Solar Segment well. The sale will give us the opportunity to focus on our high performing businesses, where we have critical mass, strong market positions and the potential to grow even further with increased profitability.," added Buscher.

“TEL will take this opportunity to combine Oerlikon Solar's expertise and TEL's own semiconductor production equipment technologies that we have developed over many years to further improve performance,” remarked Hiroshi Takenaka, president & CEO of TEL. “The establishment of operations in the photovoltaic power generation business, that is anticipated to demonstrate continued development in the future, is one part of TEL's growth strategies, and we are also confident that we can contribute to the mitigation of global environmental issues in our role as a production equipment manufacturer."