Applied Materials Monday said it will buy Brooks Software, a division of Brooks Automation, for $125 million in cash.
Brooks Software makes factory management and control software for the semiconductor and flat panel display industries.
The companies said Brooks' products complement Applied Materials’ existing software applications and will allow Applied to offer customers a comprehensive computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) solution for optimizing fab operations. Applied Materials is a semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker.
“Factory manageefficient running of today’s advanced manufacturing facilities,” said Manfred Kerschbaum, senior vice president and general manager of Applied Global Services. “The combination of both companies’ software applications and Applied’s strong service capabilities will allow us to create a powerful, pre-integrated CIM solution that can be rapidly deployed and continuously supported across the entire lifecycle of a factory. This can be a very attractive alternative to the costly, highly-customized solutions currently available to customers.”