Applied Materials to Lift Besi Stake to About 20 Percent

The Tip Desk · October 26, 2026 · 2 min read

The semiconductor equipment maker is deepening a hybrid-bonding partnership as AI-driven scaling pushes next-generation interconnects.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) said it is increasing its investment in BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (Besi) to approximately 20 percent of the Dutch company’s outstanding shares, a step the equipment maker described as a reinforcement of a long-term strategic partnership in advanced packaging.

The share purchase would add to Applied Materials’ current investment in Besi, which Applied initially made in April 2025. Applied has entered into an accelerated share purchase agreement for the Besi shares, and the delivery of the shares is subject to the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.

Applied currently has no intention to increase its investment in Besi beyond approximately 20 percent, and does not intend to seek board representation at Besi. The company views the investment as long term.

The companies have a longstanding strategic collaboration, which began in 2020 and was recently expanded with Besi joining Applied Materials’ EPIC Center as an Innovation Partner. The expanded partnership extends the companies’ co-innovation beyond hybrid bonding into new interconnect architectures and applications supporting the semiconductor industry’s AI-driven scaling roadmap. Areas of collaboration include next-generation 3D IC scaling, logic and memory integration, scaling of thermo-compression bonding and new die-on-wafer, die-on-die and die-on-panel integration platforms.

“Applied Materials is adding to its investment in Besi as hybrid bonding technology and next-generation interconnect architectures become increasingly critical enablers of energy-efficient AI compute performance,” said Dr. Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials.

Applied Materials did not disclose a purchase price, an exchange ratio, or a cash-per-share figure for the additional shares, nor a premium to any market reference. The release identified the structure only as an increase in the existing holding to about 20 percent of outstanding shares.

The strategic rationale the company gave was concentrated on advanced packaging: hybrid bonding and the next generation of interconnects that sit alongside it. Raja’s comment tied that technology set to energy-efficient AI compute, the same scaling path the expanded partnership is meant to support.

Delivery of the shares remains subject to HSR clearance. Until that waiting period expires or is terminated, the 20 percent stake is the announced end-state rather than a completed position.