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SAN FRANCISCO Cymer Inc. saw its shares surge more than 58% to $ 75.50 on Wednesday morning after the maker of semiconductor lithography equipment agreed to a buyout deal with ASML Holding . The cash-and-stock transaction is valued at about 1.95 billion euros, or about $ 2.5 billion. The deal gives Cymer shareholders a premium of about 61 percent over the stock’s 30-day volume-weighted average price. Both companies specialize in a technology called extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, which is used to create smaller, more energy efficient chip products. The deal is expected to close in the first half of [...]

AMSTERDAM The world’s leading microchip gear maker ASML, is to buy U.S. group Cymer, its key supplier of a light-based technology crucial to making a new generation of much smaller chips, for 1.95 billion euros ($ 2.5 billion). The Dutch company said that Cymer would accelerate the development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) semiconductor lithography, which will produce the chips that will increase power and functionality in future smartphones and tablet computers. The light source in ASML’s EUV development plans has been an ongoing technological challenge for ASML, causing delays in production Over the summer, ASML announced a string of deals [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Shares of KLA-Tencor Corp. fell more than 3% to $ 51.08 on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the semiconductor capital equipment company’s stock to sell from hold. KLA-Tencor’s stock was the worst performer on the S&P 500 , which was off a fraction. Analyst Vishal Shah also cut the price target for the stock to $ 44 from $ 56, citing “risk of multi-quarter bookings slowdown in 2013.” Deutsche Bank also cut the rating on ASML Holding N.V. to sell from hold. “We see downside risk to expectations of robust foundry spending environment in 2013 and [...]

Intel (INTC) unveiled a deal Monday to take at least a 10% stake in Dutch chip equipment maker ASML (ASML) as part of a broader pact worth $ 4.1 billion aimed at developing next-generation semiconductor manufacturing technology. The agreement expands the ties between the world’s largest chip maker and the leading chip equipment manufacturer and comes amid soaring demand for smartphones and tablets. Intel said the deal’s objective is to speed up the development of 450 millimeter wafer technology and extreme ultra-violet lithography by as much as two years. This accelerated rollout is expected to cut costs and improve productivity [...]