Canon Inc. is planning to acquire a Texas-based company Molecular Imprints, which has the technology to make state-of-the-art semiconductors at a low cost, hoping to regain its former glory as a manufacturer of chipmaking equipment. In the 1990s, Canon controlled about 30% of the global market for lithography equipment, which plays a central role in the chip fabrication process. But after the growth of Dutch firm ASML in the 2000s, Canon’s market share had fallen to 5%. Canon wants to buy Molecular Imprints for an estimated price of some 10 billion Yen (US $96 million). The company intends to combine its lens technology with the latter’s lithography technology to commercialize a new type of system for producing large volumes of chips, sometime in 2015. It is expected to undertak roughly 70 employees in the semiconductor segment at the Texas-based firm. Canon aims to recover a market share of 15% in two or three years by selling more than 200 units a year. The new machiones are expected to cut the cost of forming circuits by more than 50%.
