MUNICH -- ASM Pacific Technology has reached an agreement to buy Siemens' electronics assembly placement equipment business. ASM will pay €1 for the unit, and Siemens will provide €29 million as a nonrefundable cash-payment.

An early 2011 closing is expected, pending ASM shareholder approval.

In a statement, Siemens CEO Günter Lauber said, “ASM is an industrial investor that is at home in the highly dynamic electronics manufacturing market and views itself as a technology and innovation partner for its customers with a global position that complements ours. The chances are excellent that all parties will benefit from this sale.

"There are no plans for making any major changes in terms of people, locations and structures," Lauber said, and Munich will remain the unit's headquarters. The Siplace business unit will be operated as a separate division within ASMPT, Lauber said. ASM's Asia network will help the Siplace business, he added.

ASM chief executive Lee Wai Kwong said the proposed deal "represents an excellent combination of advanced technologies with vast experience and knowledge."

ASM, a manufacturer of semiconductor and LED machines and systems, is coming off its best-ever first-half, with sales of $537 million, up 196% year-over-year and 25.4% sequentially. The company had second-quarter sales of $307 million.

The 1,200-employee Siemens unit has been in play since last fall, when the company announced plans to divest or close the Siplace placement business. The company said plans to debut the Siplace SX4 placement machine this fall remain on track.

The Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems unit lost €151.7 million on €190.7 million in sales for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The business had losses of €14 million on €62 million in revenues for the period ended Dec. 31.

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