Applied Materials Lifts Besi Stake to ~20% in Advanced Packaging Bet
AMAT sits 91% above its 52-week low of $203.4.
Summary
Applied Materials is raising its stake in BE Semiconductor to roughly 20% of Besi's outstanding shares, building on an initial investment made in April 2025, and views the investment as long term. The purchase runs through an accelerated share purchase agreement and closing depends on the HSR antitrust waiting period expiring or terminating. Management frames the move around hybrid bonding and next-generation interconnect, which it calls increasingly critical for energy-efficient AI compute. This extends the partnership expansion announced October 1, when Besi joined Applied's EPIC Center as an Innovation Partner. Applied says it has no plan to go beyond about 20% and won't seek a Besi board seat, so this is a strategic minority stake rather than a takeover path.
At the time of this announcement, AMAT was trading at $388.04 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $307.6B. The 52-week trading range was $203.40 to $739.67. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: GlobeNewswire.