Europe

04/01/1997

Europe

Philips Electronics will sell off about a third of its stock in ASM Lithography, with shares of the stepper maker trading near their 52-week high. In addition, ASML sees strengthening demand for equipment in the second half of the year, and will propose a 2-for-1 stock split at its annual meeting in April. According to company statements from Holland, Philips will retain a 23.9% ownership stake (8.25 million ordinary shares) in ASML after the sell-off of 3.95 million shares. Philips, a major financier of ASML`s startup in the 1980s, has agreed to retain its remaining position until March 22, 2000.

VLSI names Top 10 equipment suppliers. San Jose research firm VLSI Research Inc. has ranked the Top 10 equipment suppliers for 1996 (see table). Most of last year`s growth in the equipment industry occurred during the first half of the year, notes VLSI. Some equipment companies began to see slowdowns in 2Q96 with much of the industry following suit beginning in 3Q96. Last year marked an abrupt end to a trend of increasing overall market share for the Top 10 suppliers. In 1996, the Top 10 made up 45.5% of the entire capital equipment market, close to 1995`s level. Collective growth of the Top 10 was close to that of the industry at 15.5% in 1996.