--- title: "Applied Materials takes its Besi stake to 20% at an undisclosed price; Besi bought back at €187.12" description: "Applied Materials is taking another 11% of Besi at an undisclosed price, while Besi's management spent the past year buying its own shares at an average €187.12. The stock trades near €159, and only one of the two votes has a number anyone can check." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Deals" published: 2026-10-28T16:17:14.209Z modified: 2026-10-28T16:17:14.209Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/applied-materials-takes-its-besi-stake-to-20-at-an-undisclosed-price-besi-bought-back-at-187-12 language: en keywords: "Applied Materials, Besi, Semiconductor Equipment, Hybrid Bonding, Buybacks" --- # Applied Materials takes its Besi stake to 20% at an undisclosed price; Besi bought back at €187.12 > Applied Materials is taking another 11% of Besi at an undisclosed price, while Besi's management spent the past year buying its own shares at an average €187.12. The stock trades near €159, and only one of the two votes has a number anyone can check. [Applied Materials](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/applied-materials) agreed on October 26 to buy another 11% of [Besi](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/be-semiconductor), taking the US equipment maker's stake from 9% to about 20% [3][7], at a price its own release does not disclose [4]. The next morning, Besi's management [closed a €60 million buyback at an average €187.12 a share](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/applied-materials-to-boost-stake-in-be-semiconductor-industries-ce785cdddb8aff22) and launched a new €100 million program [2][6]. Two buyers, one share register, and only one of the two prices anyone can check. ## Applied's vote is long term, capped and unpriced The structure is clean: an [accelerated share purchase agreement](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/applied-materials-inc-entered-into-an-accelerated-share-purchase-agreement-to-acquire-an-additiona-ce785cdcd089ff26), delivery conditional on the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period, no board seat, and a stated limit of about 20% [3][4]. So there is no takeover here, and no control premium for shareholders to price in. What Applied is buying is a long-term vote that Besi's machines are strategic to AI [7]. The reasoning is technical. Besi makes hybrid bonding equipment: machines that bond finished chips directly on top of one another, copper to copper, so signals between them travel shorter distances and use less power. That is how you stack AI accelerators with memory in the servers training the models. Applied's chip president Prabu Raja [called hybrid bonding an increasingly critical enabler of energy-efficient AI compute](https://www.tradingview.com/news/gurufocus:0e83e92b5094b:0-besi-stock-rises-as-applied-materials-lifts-stake-to-20/) [4], and the order book backs him: [€342.60 million in the third quarter, up 96% from a year earlier](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/applied-materials-raises-besi-stake-to-20-percent-besi-stock-stands-31-44-percent-above-its-low/70418713) [1]. ## Management's price is the only one you can check Besi spent a year [paying an average €187.12 for its own shares](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/applied-materials-to-increase-its-investments-in-besi-s-semiconductor-industries-ce785cdddd81f620); the stock traded at €159.20 on the day of the announcement, far below this year's peak of €328.40 [1][2][6]. Management has already put a number on what it thinks the company is worth, and it bought below it. Applied's check is bigger, roughly 11% of a company worth about €12.5 billion [1], but until clearance and any disclosure, its price is a matter of faith. *Chart: **Besi's own buyback averaged €187.12 while the stock traded at €159.20** Three bars comparing Besi's average buyback price of €187.12, its €159.20 share price on October 27, 2026, and its €328.40 52-week high.* *Average price of Besi's completed €60 million buyback (320,648 shares) versus the share price on the day Applied Materials' increased stake was announced, and the 52-week high, in euros. [1][2][6]* ## The February print and the next buyback settle the argument That sets up a clean test. The flat fourth-quarter revenue guidance says the AI packaging cycle is real but lumpy in the near term [1]. Whoever wants Applied's conviction must wait for antitrust clearance, at a price not yet known. Whoever wants management's conviction must accept that management itself paid €187.12 [2][6]. The Q4 print in February and the average price of the new €100 million buyback will say which vote was right [2][6]. ## Takeaway Applied Materials raised its Besi stake to about 20% without disclosing what it paid, while Besi's own management spent a year paying €187.12 a share; the average price of the new €100 million buyback and February's Q4 print will show which conviction was right. ## Sources 1. [ad-hoc-news.de, Applied Materials raises Besi stake to 20 percent. Besi stock stands 31.44 percent above its low, 28 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/corporate-news/applied-materials-raises-besi-stake-to-20-percent-besi-stock-stands-31-44-percent-above-its-low/70418713) 2. [MarketScreener, Applied Materials To Increase Its Investments in Besi's Semiconductor Industries, 27 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/applied-materials-to-increase-its-investments-in-besi-s-semiconductor-industries-ce785cdddd81f620) 3. [MarketScreener, Applied Materials entered an accelerated share purchase agreement for an additional 11% stake in Besi, 27 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/applied-materials-inc-entered-into-an-accelerated-share-purchase-agreement-to-acquire-an-additiona-ce785cdcd089ff26) 4. [TradingView/GuruFocus, Besi Stock Rises as Applied Materials Lifts Stake to 20%, 27 October 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/gurufocus:0e83e92b5094b:0-besi-stock-rises-as-applied-materials-lifts-stake-to-20/) 6. [MarketScreener/MT Newswires, Applied Materials to Boost Stake in BE Semiconductor Industries, 27 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/applied-materials-to-boost-stake-in-be-semiconductor-industries-ce785cdddb8aff22) 7. [Bloomberg, Applied Materials Boosts BE Semiconductor Stake to About 20%, 26 October 2026](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-26/applied-materials-boosts-be-semiconductor-stake-to-about-20) --- Applied Materials takes its Besi stake to 20% at an undisclosed price; Besi bought back at €187.12 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/applied-materials-takes-its-besi-stake-to-20-at-an-undisclosed-price-besi-bought-back-at-187-12