Advantest Seals $1.1 Billion Deal To Buy US Peer Verigy

Advantest Corp. (6857.TO) said Monday it has agreed to acquire U.S. peer Verigy Ltd. (VRGY) for $1.1 billion, or $15 per share, in a deal that allows the Japanese maker of testing systems for memory chips to diversify and reduce its dependence on often volatile demand for personal computers.

Advantest, whose mainstay product is a tester for dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips, had been in pursuit of Verigy since December. It's confident the deal will get antitrust approval in the latest demonstration of Japanese companies' growing appetite, and funds, for overseas deals to counter the impact of sluggish markets at home.

Earlier this month, Verigy's board dropped its previous opposition to Advantest's overtures, back the latter's takeover offer and scrapping plans of its own to buy U.S. peer LTX-Credence Corp. (LTXC).

Advantest is keen to diversify, since its memory tester business depends largely on conditions in the DRAM market, which can be volatile depending on demand for personal computers.

Analysts say that by buying Verigy, Advantest will have a better product balance since it can tap into demand for both memory chip and large-scale system integration testers.

-By Hiroyuki Kachi and Kenneth Maxwell, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]