| 芯片生产设备制造商Aviza Technology Inc(AVZA)表示，已根据美国破产法第11章申请了破产保护。 该公司表示，导致其申请破产的原因包括：经济衰退导致的芯片生产设备需求下降，其担保信贷额度的加速动用，加上未能找到新的流动性来源。 Aviza表示，过去几个月，通过裁员、削减高管薪水，以及强制员工休假等措施，已努力削减了成本和运营资金需求。 该公司还已聘请Needham & Co协助其寻求其它战略选择，包括与另外一家公司合并、出售部分或全部资产，以及通过破产来清算或解散公司。 在提交破产保护申请之前，该公司签署了一项非约束性意向书，同意将部分资产和业务出售给日本住友精密工业会社(Sumitomo Precision Products Co)。该公司表示，计划完成这项交易，并出售其它资产。 English Link: http://www.semiconductor.net/article/279019-Aviza_Technology_Files_for_Chapter_11.php Aviza Technology Inc. (Scotts Valley, Calif.) announced today that is has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it goes ahead with efforts to sell certain of its assets to Sumitomo Precision Products Co. Ltd. (SPP, Amagasaki, Japan). SPP makes specialized deposition and etch systems, including MEMS-related silicon etch tools. Several years ago, Aviza acquired Trikon Technologies Inc., and Gartner analyst Dean Freeman said SPP could be interested in the depositon and etch technology within Trikon, now an Aviza subsidiary. Jerry Cutini, CEO, Aviza Aviza has been working to find a buyer in recent months, and signed a letter of intent with SPP to sell key assets, said CEO Jerry Cutini. By filing Chapter 11, we can continue to operate our business and pursue an orderly transition to SPP with minimal impact on our customers and employees. Besides the deal with SPP, Aviza is looking at other significant asset sales, he said. Freeman, who early in his career spent four years as an engineer at furnace-maker Watkins Johnson, said Aviza came into existence after ASML bought the Silicon Valley Group (SVG), and spun out the non-lithography assets, including the Watkins-Johnson furnace operation that SVG had acquired about 10 years ago. The furnace business at Aviza went pretty close to zero when Qimonda declared bankruptcy, and other mid-sized memory manufacturers stopped buying, Freeman said. Aviza had revenues from the Trikon etch and deposition operations, but their plan to grow that got hit hard by the business conditions in 2008 and 2009. He warned that half a dozen other equipment companies face heavy debt loads and could face a similar fate over the next year as debt-heavy companies scramble for scarce capital. He declined to name the companies on Gartners death watch, but said it includes both U.S.- and Japan-based companies facing liquidity challenges. On recent financial results conference calls with press and securities analysts, Cutini had described a long list of efforts to reduce expenses and working capital requirements, including workforce reductions, executive salary cuts, and mandatory time off for all of the companys employees. He also sought to sell the company headquarters in Scotts Valley. The company then signed up with Needham & Co. to review financial and strategic options. In its most recent quarter ending March 27, Aviza had net sales of ~$10M and a net loss of ~$5M. | |
