DLA Piper advises Cohu, Inc. on divestment of atg Luther & Maelzer to Mycronic

DLA Piper has advised Cohu, Inc., a global leader in back-end semiconductor equipment and services, on the divestment of atg Luther & Maelzer GmbH (atg) to Mycronic AB (Mycronic), a Swedish high-tech company engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of production equipment. Mycronic will acquire atg and other affiliated entities and assets related to Cohu’s Printed Circuit Board Test Group (PTG) business. The purchase price of approximately USD125 million will be paid in cash at close. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of June 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

atg, with approximately 190 employees headquartered in Wertheim, Germany, develops, produces and sells advanced equipment that tests, measures and verifies PCBs and substrate. Mycronic's acquisition of atg encompasses the entire global operations of PTG, including companies in Taiwan, Germany and China.

The highly complex transaction involved Germany, China, Taiwan and the US. In addition to the shares of German and Chinese companies, IP and other assets from the US were also sold by way of an asset deal, which further complicated the structuring of the transaction.

“It was a pleasure to bring together a strong cross-border and multidisciplinary team, as well as our market-leading M&A capabilities, to complete this transaction for Cohu, which will enable our client to strategically focus on its semiconductor equipment and services businesses,” said Larry Nishnick (San Diego), the DLA Piper partner who led the transaction as client relationship partner.

“DLA Piper was able to smoothly coordinate an incredibly complex transaction spanning multiple continents and involving a large number of stakeholders, and we appreciate the team’s excellent guidance and support throughout the process,” said Tom Kampfer, Cohu’s vice president, corporate development and general counsel.

The core DLA Piper team in Germany was led by partner Dr Nils Krause, counsel Dr Moritz von Hesberg and senior associate Katharina Minski (all Corporate/M&A, Hamburg). The team further included partners Dr Jan Meents (IPT, Munich) and Dr Jan Dreyer (Antitrust, Cologne), counsel Miray Kavruk (IP/IT), of counsel Martin Heinsius (Tax, both Frankfurt), senior associates Dominik Wegener (Corporate/MA, Hamburg), Lennart Kähling (IPT, Munich), Dr Gregor Schroll (Antitrust) and associate Janis Rentrop (Corporate/M&A, both Cologne). In China, the DLA Piper offices in Shanghai and Beijing also advised on the transaction with a team led by Corporate partner James Chang. In the US, Corporate partner Larry Nishnick was mainly supported by associate Andrew Booth on the transaction. DLA Piper’s Swedish capital markets team, led by partners Emma Norburg and Anna Berntorp, was also involved.