Applied Materials to raise Besi stake to about 20%, subject to antitrust waiting period

On October 26, 2026, Applied Materials, Inc. entered into an accelerated share purchase agreement to acquire shares of common stock of BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (Besi), a Dutch public limited company. Applied said that, combined with its existing ownership of Besi shares, it would own approximately 20% of Besi's outstanding common stock following the purchase.

Delivery of the Besi shares under the agreement is subject to the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.

The companies have a longstanding strategic collaboration. Besi joined Applied's EPIC Center as an Innovation Partner as part of an expansion of that partnership. Applied said the expansion extends the companies' co-innovation beyond hybrid bonding into new interconnect architectures supporting the semiconductor industry's AI-driven scaling roadmap, including next-generation 3D IC scaling and new die-on-wafer, die-on-die and die-on-panel integration platforms.

Dr. Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials, said Applied is adding to its investment in Besi as hybrid bonding and next-generation interconnect architectures become more central to energy-efficient AI compute performance.

Applied said it views its investment in Besi as long term. Applied said it currently has no intention to increase its investment in Besi beyond approximately 20%. Applied said it does not intend to seek board representation at Besi.