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San Francisco/Taipei (December 30, 2005) - San Francisco/Taipei (December 30, 2005) - Walden International is pleased to announce the merger between Advantech Semiconductor Inc. (“Advantech”) and Sigurd Microelectronics Corporation (“Sigurd”), an IC packaging and testing company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Founded in December 1988 with headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Sigurd (www.sigurd.com.tw) specializes in packaging and testing of mixed-mode IC, logic IC, CMOS image sensor, RF IC, and power IC. Currently, Sigurd has a paid-in capital of NT$1.7 billion and 820 employees. Major shareholders include Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd., which is one of the largest packaging companies worldwide with stock listing on both the NASDAQ and Taiwan Stock Exchange, and Micro Silicon Elecs Corp. which is specialized in IC back-end services.
Founded in September 1998, Advantech is a professional IC testing company with headquarters in Hukou, Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It specializes in testing for memory IC, logic and mixed-mode IC, and CMOS image sensor. Current paid-in capital is NT$1.1 billion, and current headcount is 440. Walden International initially invested in Advantech in January 1999 and is the largest institutional investor of Advantech. At present, Walden International holds approximately 24.4 million shares in Advantech, approximately 23.03% of the Company’s outstanding shares.
Based on the merger agreement, Sigurd will issue 50.4 million new shares for the acquisition of Advantech. Stock swap ratio of Sigurd shares to Advantech shares is 1:2.1. After the effective date of the merger tentatively scheduled on May 10, 2006, the new entity will have a paid-in capital of NT$2.2 billion and Walden International will hold approximately 11.6 million shares or 5.26% equity holding. Based on the closing price of Sigurd on December 30, 2005, estimated market capitalization of the new Sigurd is approximately NT$5.0 billion (US$150 million).
Through the merger with Advantech, Sigurd will enter the field of memory testing while strengthening its testing services for logic and mixed-mode IC and CMOS image sensor. With the integration of resources and complementary customer portfolios of Sigurd and Advantech, the new Sigurd will have an expanded production capacity, product offering and customer base, enabling it to achieve economy of scale and capture additional market share. Monthly revenue of the new Sigurd is anticipated to be increased to higher than NT$300 million after the merger takes effect.
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