Schlumberger
announces sale of NPTest business unit
Posted: 24 June 2003
Schlumberger Limited announced certain of its subsidiaries have
signed a definitive agreement with a partnership led by Francisco
Partners and Shah Management for the sale of the NPTest business
unit.
Under terms of the agreement, the partnership will pay Schlumberger
$220 million in cash at closing.
Additionally, the agreement states that the partnership has a contingent
obligation to make a further payment to Schlumberger upon a subsequent
qualifying disposition or an initial public offering of NPTest by
the partnership, under certain circumstances.
The transaction is expected to close in July, subject to the satisfaction
of customary closing conditions.
Schlumberger will record a net loss of $12 million in the second
quarter as discontinued operations.
This sale represents the completion of another step in the divestiture
plan of non-core activities set out by Schlumberger last year.
NPTest designs and manufactures advanced semiconductor test and
diagnostic equipment, and provides related product engineering services.
The customers of NPTest include semiconductor manufacturers, fabless
companies, foundries and test contractors worldwide. NPTest, which
employs 900 people, had revenue of $230 million in 2002.
About Schlumberger
Schlumberger is a global oilfield and information services company
with major activity in the energy industry.
The company employs 78,000 people of more than 140 nationalities
working in 100 countries and consists of three primary business
segments.
Schlumberger Oilfield Services is the world's premier oilfield
services company supplying a wide range of technology services and
solutions to the international oil and gas industry.
SchlumbergerSema is a leading supplier of IT consulting, systems
integration, and network and infrastructure services to the energy
industry, as well as to the public sector, telecommunications and
finance markets.
WesternGeco, jointly owned with Baker Hughes, is the world's largest
and most advanced surface seismic company.
In 2002, Schlumberger revenue was $13.5 billion.
About Francisco Partners
With $2.5 billion of committed capital, Francisco Partners is the
world’s largest technology-focused private equity fund.
The firm was founded to pursue structured investments in technology
companies undergoing strategic, technological, and operational inflection
points. Francisco Partners targets majority and minority investments
in private companies, public companies, and divisions of public
companies, with transaction values ranging from $30 million to $2
billion.
The principals of Francisco Partners have a proven track record,
having invested in excess of $2.0 billion of equity capital in over
25 technology companies during the past decade, including several
of the most successful buyouts effected to date.
The firm also has an exclusive, long-term relationship with Sequoia
Capital, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent and successful venture
capital firms.
Francisco Partners’ recent investments include the purchase
of XcelleNet from Sterling Commerce, the purchase of Legerity from
Advanced Micro Devices, the purchase of AMI Semiconductor, the purchase
of Global eXchange Services from GE and the purchase of Ultra Clean
Technology from Mitsubishi.
For more information see www.franciscopartners.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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