The shareholders of Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates have approved the acquisition of the Gloucester-based company by California semiconductor giant Applied Materials for $4.9 billion, advancing the deal that was first announced in May.
Holders of 52.8 million shares of Varian's common stock approved the merger, with 237,000 voting against it, according to a prepared statement issued by the company this morning.
The shareholders approved the acquisition late Friday, the statement indicated; the company now expects Applied to wrap up the acquisition by the end of the year.
Applied and Varian had signed a tentative purchase-and-sale agreement in May. The agreement stated that Applied would acquire Varian for $63 per share in cash totalling $4.9 billion.
The Applied-Varian merger requires the company to meet several other closing conditions, including approval of the Justice Department.
Applied is the world's largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer with $9.6 billion in sales with about 13,000 employees.
Varian, which is Gloucester's largest employer, has roughly 2,000 workers, the majority of them based in Gloucester as the company's Blackburn Industrial Park headquarters. When the merger wraps up, Corporate Financial Officer Bob Halliday has said previously, Varian will operate as a division of Applied, but will maintain the Varian name.
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Steven Fletcher may be contacted at 1-978-283-7000 x3455, or sfletcher@gloucestertimes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevengdt.
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