FEI, Imago to Collaborate, Hint at Possible Merger

David Lammers, News Editor -- Semiconductor International, 4/15/2008 10:19:00 AM

FEI Co. (Hillsboro, Ore.) and Imago Scientific Instruments Inc. (Madison, Wis.) announced a collaboration for the distribution and marketing of Imago’s atom probe microscopes, a relationship that “allows for FEI to establish an equity position in Imago and the option to purchase Imago in the future.”

Imago CEO Tom Kelly, in a letter posted on the company’s website, wrote that after leaving a professorship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 to found Imago, he was able to establish the atom probe technology, which analyzes materials at the atomic scale. “The next step is for us to enhance our ability to deliver complete application solutions,” Kelly wrote.

Risto Puhakka, president of market research firm VLSI Research Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.), said much of FEI’s recent growth has been in medical research and scientific and university labs. “FEI is diversified now into biotech and medical research, which is good because the semiconductor industry is in a very, very precarious environment right now.”

For Imago, Puhakka said a possible merger into FEI makes good sense. “It is possible for an entrepreneur to build a company up, especially in the instrumentation area. However, to serve customers like Intel and Samsung on a worldwide basis, it makes a lot more sense to merge into a large company like FEI that already has a global network, which can reach those critical customers.”

FEI and Imago stressed the complementary nature of their products. Imago’s LEAP microscopes combine high-compositional sensitivity in the ppm range and 3-D atomic resolution imaging. They are used in the same characterization labs as the FEI line of Titan TEMs. Also, sample preparation can be done by FEI’s DualBeam tools for both the FEI TEMs and the Imago atom probe tools.

Imago’s LEAP microscopes provide compositional sensitivity in the ppm range and atomic resolution imaging in three dimensions.

FEI’s CEO Don Kania said, “We are delighted to join forces with Imago, as we believe its products and technology will enable FEI to further expand the horizons of imaging and analysis at the atomic scale.”

George Scholes, vice president of sales at FEI, said, “The perception of atom probe has shifted from the esoteric to the practical, so FEI is getting involved to make sure we can deliver our customers the best solutions.”

FEI is publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange. Net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007, were $152.5M, up 5% compared with the previous quarter.