Applied Materials moves to raise Besi stake to about 20%

Applied Materials plans to raise its stake in Dutch chip equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries to about 20% of its outstanding shares, deepening a partnership aimed at advanced packaging for AI chips.

Applied disclosed the move on Monday in an 8-K and accompanying press release. It has entered into an accelerated share purchase agreement for the shares, which will be delivered once the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law expires or is terminated.

Applied did not disclose the cost of the purchase or how many shares it will buy.

Building on an earlier stake

Applied first invested in Besi, which trades on Euronext Amsterdam, in April 2025. The two companies have worked together since 2020, and Besi recently joined Applied's EPIC Center as an innovation partner.

The partnership now goes beyond hybrid bonding to newer ways of connecting chips. Applied listed next-generation 3D chip scaling, logic and memory integration, thermo-compression bonding, and die-on-wafer, die-on-die and die-on-panel platforms.

"Applied Materials is adding to its investment in Besi as hybrid bonding technology and next-generation interconnect architectures become increasingly critical enablers of energy-efficient AI compute performance," Prabu Raja, president of Applied's Semiconductor Products Group, said in the release.

No plans to go further

Applied said it views the investment as long-term. It has no current intention to raise its stake beyond about 20% and does not plan to seek a seat on Besi's board.

Key facts

• Target stake: about 20% of Besi's outstanding shares
• Structure: accelerated share purchase agreement
• Condition: HSR Act waiting period
• First investment: April 2025
• Board seat: not sought

Sources

1. Applied Materials, Inc., Form 8-K (Item 8.01) with press release, filed Oct. 26, 2026 (accession 0001628280-26-067303)

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