May 4, 2009 7:50 PM PDT
Intel invests in chip equipment maker
Intel has invested in ASM International, a major semiconductor production equipment maker that has been struggling during the worldwide economic downturn.
Intel Capital's investment amounts to 4 percent of ASMI's total common share capital, based on approximately 54 million common shares outstanding. This follows an investment last week by Tokyo Electron, which took a 4.9 percent stake in the company.
ASMI is currently trading at about $12.40 a share.
"ASMI has been at the forefront of delivering materials and equipment innovation to integrated circuit manufacturers worldwide," Intel said in a statement. ASMI's equipment and materials are used in wafer processing, assembly, and packaging of semiconductor devices.
Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Follow Brooke on Twitter @mbrookec. 
