Ichor Systems, a portfolio company of Francisco Partners, has acquired Ajax-United Patterns and Molds (DBA Ajax Custom Manufacturing).
Ajax specializes in the manufacturing and assembly of plastic and metal products for the medical/biomedical, semiconductor, data communication and food process equipment industries. The company was founded in 1945 and is family-owned. Ajax is headquartered near San Francisco in Union City, CA (www.ajaxmfg.com).
“This acquisition solidifies our position as one of the largest suppliers of plastic systems in the semiconductor chemical delivery market,” said Tom Rohrs, CEO of Ichor Systems.
Ichor System’s products and systems are used to produce light emitting diodes, microelectronic semiconductor chips, solar panels, superconductor wire and thin film magnetic heads by enabling the precise application of numerous specialty gases, liquids and chemicals. Ichor has manufacturing locations in California, Oregon, Texas, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered south of Portland in Tualatin, OR (www.ichorsystems.com).
With the buy of Ajax, Ichor will increase its global manufacturing footprint including a Class 10K clean room to its existing facilities. “This acquisition places Ichor in the forefront of the fluid mechanics business,” added Mr. Rohrs. “It gives us a great foundation for continued growth in semiconductor plastics and it opens up the opportunity for pursuing additional opportunities in liquid delivery processes.”
Ichor Systems was acquired by Francisco Partners in January 2012. In April 2012, Ichor completed its first add-on acquisition with the buy of Scotland-based Semi Scenic UK Limited (www.semiscenic.co.uk), a provider of engineering services to semiconductor equipment and device manufacturers.
Francisco Partners makes investments in technology companies with transaction values ranging from $50 million to $2 billion. Transaction structures include buyouts, divisional divestitures, recapitalizations, restructurings and growth equity financings. Francisco Partners is headquartered in San Francisco (www.franciscopartners.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-19-16