Applied Materials to buy Tokyo Electron as chip gear sector slows

By Reiji Murai and Supantha Mukherjee (Reuters) - Applied Materials Inc in a deal valued at more than $9 billion, combining the No.1 and No.3 makers of chipmaking gear as demand for their products slow and it gets tougher to turn a profit. The all-stock deal will create a new company valued at about $29 billion that would be 68 percent owned by Applied Materials shareholders, the companies said on Tuesday. Applied Materials shares rose 7.4 percent in morning trading on the Nasdaq. The announcement came after close of trading in Tokyo, where Tokyo Electron shares ended 0.4 percent higher. ...

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