US duo joins De Brauw as ASML acquires Cymer for €1.95bn

De Brauw and Skadden were retained by ASML for the transaction. De Brauw corporate partner Martin van Olffen led an Amsterdam-based team that advised ASML on the Dutch law aspects of the transaction. Corporate partner Arne Grimme and senior associate Marie-José Blaak, who are the firm’s primary relationship lawyers for ASML, were also involved.

The team at Skadden consisted of the firm’s co-head European corporate finance Rick Ely in London, New York-based M&A specialists Neil Stronski and Tim Fesenmyer, antitrust partner Ian John, executive compensation and benefits partner Simon Baxter, tax partner Sally Thurston and London corporate finance partner Jim Mcdonald.

Sullivan & Cromwell acted for Cymer, with a team led by Los Angeles M&A partners Alison Ressler and Eric Krautheimer, who worked alongside litigation partner Steven Holley, executive compensation and benefits partner Matthew Friestedt and tax head Ronald Creamer in New York, DC-based corporate partner Eric Kadel and Juan Rodriguez, who heads the firm’s EU competition group from London.

The deal will enable ASML to further develop its Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) semiconductor lithography technology, which is used to produce lower cost and more energy efficient microchips for the next generation of smartphones and tablet computers.

Under the agreement, ASML will acquire all outstanding shares of Cymer in a cash-and-stock transaction currently for an estimated €1.95bn (£1.58bn).

Background to this deal:

De Brauw and Skadden have both acted for ASML in the past and earlier this year they advised the Dutch company on signing a series of agreements with Intel Corp. This included Intel agreeing to make a $3.1bn (£1.9bn) equity investment in the Dutch chip maker.