The Carlyle Group Acquires Cameca Group, a Leader in Semiconductor Metrology and Scientific Instruments

Paris, France - Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group announced today it has acquired Cameca, a leading French manufacturer of semiconductor metrology equipment and scientific instruments dedicated to micro- and nano-analysis, from Barclays Private Equity, Perfectis Private Equity and a group of individual investors. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Cameca is the world leader in the designing, manufacturing, and servicing of ion and electron probes. The company offers the largest available range of instruments for research application in earth and planetary sciences, materials and nuclear sciences and biology. In addition, Cameca provides a range of tools to the semiconductor industry for both in-line and off-line metrology applications. Cameca’s most recent semiconductor metrology tool, the Shallow Probe, is a fully automated process control system designed to measure both elemental composition and thickness of thin films, a major metrology requirement at the 90nm node and beyond.

Cameca has an installed base of over 900 active instruments and a client list that includes prestigious academic institutions (e.g., Harvard, MIT, Oxford and Tokyo Universities), governmental institutions (e.g., NASA, Lawrence Livermore, Argonne and Los Alamos laboratories) and corporations (e.g., Exxon, Siemens, IBM and Samsung). The company employs over 220 people based in its headquarters near Paris and in its subsidiaries in the U.S., Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the U.K.

Georges Antier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cameca, commented "We are looking forward to our collaboration with The Carlyle Group. Their expertise in the semiconductor industry and their ability to support us financially and through their global network will be of great benefit to us as we seek to grow our business and consolidate our position in the semiconductor capital equipment sector."

Vladimir Lasocki, Director, The Carlyle Group, said, "We believe Cameca has significant growth potential in both its historical market for scientific instrumentation where demand is fuelled by the emergence of nanotechnologies, and in the semiconductor industry where the Shallow Probe has already been adopted by some of the world’s largest and most advanced manufacturers. The company’s growth potential, its long history of innovation and its track record of profitability and cash generation are testament to the quality and dedication of its excellent management team."

The acquisition of Cameca complements Carlyle’s global portfolio of investments in the semiconductor industry, which includes AZ Electronic Materials, a provider of high-end chemicals and electronic materials to the semiconductor industry; Jazz Semiconductor, a commercial semiconductor foundry based in the U.S.; Ness, a leading organic light emitting diode technology developer based in South Korea; and Fab Solutions, an inspection and evaluation tool developer based in Japan.

"This deal fits well with our expertise in the sector at Carlyle and our strategy of acquiring established technology companies in Europe. Cameca’s robust business fundamentals combined with tangible growth drivers make it an attractive investment for us and our investors," said Wolfgang Hanrieder, Managing Director and co-head of Carlyle Europe Venture Partners.

Carlyle was advised by Aforge Finance and Latham & Watkins Paris. Fortis Banque France acted as arranger for the debt facilities while Crédit Iindustriel et Commercial and BNP Paribas acted as co-arrangers. The sellers, Barclays Capital and Perfectis Private Equity, were advised by Cazenove and the law firms Orsay and Themis. The investment will be made from the European technology fund, Carlyle Europe Venture Partners.

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