VantagePoint takes a hit as Aviza goes under, sells assets
Aviza Technologies, maker of the equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, has filed for bankruptcy and is now selling off its assets to Sumitomo Precision Products, a company that dabbles in everything from aerospace machinery to water purification. This is another loss in the struggling semiconductor space for VantagePoint Venture Partners, which held a 34 percent stake in the company.
Aviza is expected to receive $10 million in cash upfront after it shutters, to be followed by about $41 million more in the next year and a half as Sumitomo continues to sell off its inventory and collect on previous business. This won’t amount to much for VantagePoint, which had ponied up $50 million to help the company acquire a thermal products division from ASML Holding in 2003. The firm dialed this investment up to $60 million when Aviza merged with Trikon Technologies in 2005.
VantagePoint has seen this happen before. In 2003, it participated in a $50 million venture round for semiconductor equipment provider SCP Global Technologies — one of the largest amounts sunk into the fabless semiconductor space that year. At the time, SCP had just acquired assets from Mattson to become a contender in the equipment-making segment of the industry, and VantagePoint said it was very optimistic about the company’s potential to become a leader in the market. By 2006, the company was forced to sell to Applied Materials for $24 million.
Aviza’s failure comes as even less of a surprise considering the state of the semiconductor space today. Chip makers have seen their revenues plummet since last fall’s economic downturn, which has sent ripples through the entire industry. There are now signs of growth in chip sales (starting in June), according to a recent reports from the Semiconductor Industry Association — but the uptick didn’t take hold early enough to save Aviza, and other recent casualties LV Sensors and Asyst.
The trouble started for Aviza when it defaulted on a $29.5 million loan from United Commercial Bank, which had demanded immediate repayment. While the company has found a buyer for most of its assets in Sumitomo, it will retain ownership of its headquarters and factory in Scotts Valley, Calif.
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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