Shares of BE Semiconductor Industries jumped 8.8% in Amsterdam Tuesday after Applied Materials moved to increase its ownership of the Dutch semiconductor-equipment company to approximately 20%.
Besi traded at €159.20 in early trading following the announcement.
Applied Materials currently owns approximately 9% of Besi after making its initial investment in April 2025.
The company has entered an accelerated share-purchase agreement to raise that position to roughly 20%, subject to U.S. antitrust review before delivery of the shares.
Applied Materials said it currently does not intend to increase its holding beyond approximately 20% and does not plan to seek a seat on Besi’s board.
The investment deepens a partnership that began in 2020.
Besi specializes in semiconductor assembly and advanced packaging equipment. Its hybrid-bonding technology allows chips to be connected more densely, an increasingly important capability as AI processors require greater computing performance and energy efficiency.
The companies expanded their technical collaboration earlier this month, with Besi joining Applied Materials’ EPIC Center as an innovation partner.
The ownership increase also carries strategic implications.
Under Dutch rules, crossing a 30% ownership threshold would trigger a mandatory takeover offer. Applied Materials remains well below that level and has explicitly said it does not currently intend to move beyond approximately 20%.
The market reaction nevertheless demonstrates the strategic value investors are placing on advanced packaging as semiconductor performance increasingly depends on how processors and memory are interconnected, not simply on shrinking individual transistors.
The next milestones are completion of the share purchase following regulatory review and evidence that the companies’ expanded technical partnership converts AI-related packaging demand into commercial growth.
