• Dr. Ashraf Lotfi to Join CVD Equipment Board of Directors

    Dr. Ashraf Lotfi to Join CVD Equipment Board of Directors

    2 Min Read

    CVD Equipment Corporation appointed Dr. Ashraf Lotfi to its Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors also approved an expansion of the number of directors from the current level of five to six.

    “We are delighted that Dr. Lotfi has agreed to join our Board,” said Lawrence J. Waldman, Chairman of CVD Equipment Corporation’s Board of Directors.  “His extensive semiconductor and power electronics device industry expertise, and proven track record of bringing innovative technologies to market, will be invaluable as we execute our core strategy focused on the electrification of everything.”

    Dr. Lotfi is currently a venture partner with Deep Sciences Ventures and serves on the board of Lotus Microsystems, ApS.  Dr. Lotfi previously served as Vice President and a Fellow at Intel Corporation.   Prior to Intel, he was Power Chief Technology Officer for Altera Corporation serving its Enpirion Power Business as well as the broader Field Programmable Gate Array community. Altera was acquired by Intel in 2015. Prior to Altera, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Enpirion, Inc., which he founded in 2002.

    From Enpirion’s inception, Dr. Lotfi led its strategic direction with a unique industry‐first vision to create the ultimate power converter‐on‐chip creating ubiquitous DC‐DC conversion at the silicon level.  In 2013, he led Enpirion’s merger into Altera to realize his vision of highly integrated power management closely coupled to leading‐edge digital silicon loads. Prior to founding Enpirion, he was Director of Advanced Power Research at Bell Laboratories.

    Manny Lakios, President and CEO of CVD Equipment Corporation, also commented, “We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Lotfi to our Board of Directors.  His in-depth knowledge of the power electronics market and his track record of scaling the Enpirion Power Business will allow him to immediately contribute to our management team and Board of Directors as we pursue the pipeline of customer opportunities in our key strategic markets of high-power electronics, battery materials/energy storage and aerospace and defense.”

    Dr. Lotfi stated, “I am very delighted to join CVD Equipment Corporation. Its long history and solid IP capabilities, particularly in silicon carbide, the essential enabling technology for electrification, form a strong basis for continued growth and participation in critical parts of vital applications and growth markets.”

    Original – CVD Equipment

    Comments Off on Dr. Ashraf Lotfi to Join CVD Equipment Board of Directors
  • MACOM to Acquire RF Business of Wolfspeed

    MACOM to Acquire RF Business of Wolfspeed

    2 Min Read

    MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the radio frequency business of Wolfspeed, Inc. The RF Business includes a portfolio of Gallium Nitride (“GaN”) on Silicon Carbide (“SiC”) products used in high performance RF and microwave applications. 

    The business services a broad customer base of leading aerospace, defense, industrial and telecommunications customers and most recently generated annualized revenues of approximately $150 million. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to MACOM’s non-GAAP earnings.   

    “We are excited to acquire Wolfspeed’s RF Business and look forward to welcoming its employees to MACOM,” stated Stephen G. Daly, President and Chief Executive Officer, MACOM. “The RF team’s engineering capabilities, technology and products are a perfect fit with MACOM and our strategy.”

    The acquisition includes a 100mm GaN wafer fabrication facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (the “RTP Fab”) with operations conveying to MACOM approximately two years following the closing and Wolfspeed’s relocation of certain production equipment. 

    The acquisition also includes design teams and associated product development assets in Arizona, California and North Carolina, as well as back-end production capabilities in California and Malaysia. In addition, MACOM will be assigned or licensed a robust intellectual property portfolio including over 1,400 patents associated with the RF Business.

    The RF Business will be acquired for $125 million, including $75 million cash paid at closing and $50 million of MACOM common stock issued with certain restrictions. A workforce of approximately 280 employees is expected to join MACOM at closing, with additional employees joining when the RTP Fab conveys.

    Closing of the transaction is subject to the expiration of a waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and other closing conditions and is expected to occur in the second half of calendar year 2023.

    Original – MACOM Technology Solutions

    Comments Off on MACOM to Acquire RF Business of Wolfspeed