Credence completes acquisition of ATE supplier IMS for $155 million

Credence completes acquisition of ATE supplier IMS for $155 million
FREMONT, Calif. -- Credence Systems Corp. here announced that it has completed its acquisition of Integrated Measurement Systems Inc. (IMS), a supplier of automatic test equipment (ATE) for engineering and characterization applications. The deal is worth approximately $155 million in stock.

Under the terms, IMS of Beaverton, Ore. will become a subsidiary of Credence, a supplier of ATE systems in Fremont. Keith Barnes, chairman and chief executive, will become executive vice president of Credence and president of IMS. Barnes will report to Graham Siddall, president and chief executive of Credence.

In addition, Fluence Technology Inc., a subsidiary of Credence, will be folded into the IMS subsidiary. Fluence supplies software for embedded test applications.

Siddall, who also served as chairman of Fluence, will relinquish that office. He will become chairman of the IMS subsidiary.

The combined company will offer everything from design-for-test software, to IC-characterization systems, to volume-production testers, Siddall said.

The products from Credence and IMS are complementary, he said. While Credence sells ATE equipment to test houses and subcontractors, IMS primarily focuses on integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), he added.