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23870 Cernusco Lombardone, LC (Italy)
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Agreements with Advantest Corporation to form a strategic partnership
Technoprobe S.p.A. (FTSE Italy Mid Cap: TPRO) announced today that it has received communication from T-PLUS S.p.A., the shareholder that legally controls the Company. The communication, addressed to the Company and to Teradyne International Holdings B.V. and made pursuant to the shareholders’ agreements signed on November 7, 2023 (the “Agreements”), disclosed the binding agreement for the transfer of Technoprobe shares, representing 2.5% of its share capital, to Advantest Europe GmbH, a company wholly owned by Advantest Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange, Prime Market: Advantest Corp. 6857), a leading company in the design and production of Automatic Test Equipment (ATE). The transfer will be carried out through an off-market transaction. This communication is significant as it leads, pursuant to Article 4.3(iii), Annex A of the Agreements, to the termination of the lock-up commitments related to the stake in Technoprobe’s capital purchased by Teradyne International under the Agreements.
Following the sale of the 2.5% of Technoprobe shares, T-PLUS will hold a 57.96% stake in the Company’s share capital and 70.47% of the voting rights.
Also today, Technoprobe announced that it has recently signed multiple agreements with Advantest Corporation to form a commercial and strategic partnership for the development and supply of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards).
Stefano Felici, CEO of Technoprobe S.p.A., said: “Last year we started to enlarge our competences in Device Interface Boards and today we confirm the relevance of this strategic pillar. The leading position gained by Technoprobe in the non-memory high-end and Artificial Intelligence segments, has allowed the Company to strengthen its commercial relationship with Advantest Corporation, the leader in ATE platforms in the same market segment. As result of the agreement with Advantest Corporation and in order to optimize the cost structure of the Group, the US manufacturing activities related to Harbor Electronics will cease operation by the end of the first quarter of 2025”.
The agreements provide that companies of Technoprobe Group will rely on companies of Advantest Group as priority suppliers for the purchase of probe card PCBs, test board PCBs, and other PCB solutions that may be jointly defined by the parties. The initial term of the agreement is three years, with automatic annual renewals thereafter.
Simultaneously, Technoprobe confirms the discontinuation of PCB production activities at the Santa Clara manufacturing facility (CA) of its U.S. subsidiary, Harbor Electronics, Inc., while retaining the know-how related to specific assembly processes for its probe cards at Fremont plant (CA).
The leadership position of Technoprobe and Advantest Corporation in the development, production, and marketing of products for high-end AI chip testing represents the cornerstone of this partnership. The goal is to maintain their established market position through the synergies generated by sharing their technological roadmap.