Advantage exits Japan's Fasford to Fuji

Fuji said in an earlier filing that it would pay JPY21.8 billion ($197 million) for 100% of Fasford, which is held by four Advantage-owned investment vehicles. The acquiring company, which recorded JPY120 billion in revenue for the 2018 financial year, wants to use the technology to develop its own industrial robotics business.

Fasford manufactures die bonders that are primarily used to produce Dram and Nand memory products. Fuji is a market leader in electronic component mounting machines but is keen to enter new areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, data centers, and communication devices. By combining semiconductor processes with its existing production line solutions, the company hopes to position itself to take advantage of these next generation opportunities.

Fasford generated JPY9.29 billion in revenue for the 12 months ended March 2018, down from JPY10.5 billion the previous year. However, over the same period, net profit rose from JPY490 million to JPY555 million.

Advantage claims to have supported initiatives that improved the profitability of existing business lines and enabled expansion into new market segments, leveraging growth in the overall semiconductor market as well as Fasford’s ability to develop models that reflected customer needs.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Trade sale
• Industrials
• Japan
• Advantage Partners
• manufacturing
• Exit