CompoundSemi Online - The Original Compound Semiconductor Industry Newspaper

July 8, 2004...I don't think I've ever seen a compound semi company go public on the USA's Nasdaq stock exchange in quite the manner Aixtron appears to be going at it. Granted, I'm no Wall Street expert, but over the 25 years I've been watching companies go public on the Nasdaq... which is the preferred exchange (versus the New York Stock Exchange, aka "NYSE") for small, aggressive startups and even more aggressive grown-up companies that have long matured from startup mode... usually they necessarily have to go through the usual application process, then the painful quiet period (when everyone in the company is all atwitter with excitement), then the big hoopla and everyone who's been papering their wall with heretofore relatively worthless stock certificates gets rich, overnight. At least that's how the classic Silicon Valley fairy tale used to play out... and sometimes still does (and probably will in the case of Google's pending IPO on Nasdaq). Many an early employee at Intel, Microsoft, etc., did just that. They became millionaires in one day. With the exception of Google, of course, these days you're lucky to even make it to the trading floor, let alone get rich quick. And if your stock dips below $1 for too long, you get bounced off, pronto.

Mandatory "quiet times" (where you're not allowed to say anything that can smack of hype) are the norm when something significantly is in the works, and companies these days have to be exceedingly upfront and very, very careful about what they say, whom they say it to... and when and why... and they have to constantly play by the SEC rules, and tell it all to "Uncle Sam" before they say anything to anyone else. The USA's Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) really does RULE when it comes to the markets.

But back to Aixtron... Note in our coverage of their merger with Silicon Valley-based Genus (July 6th, top news story), that from the looks of that initial company news release, what appears to be a straightforward acquisition of a USA company that is currently listed on the Nasdaq, seems to be an innovative way for this mainstay compound semi industry MOCVD supplier, which is headquartered in Aachen, Germany, to quickly become a Nasdaq company. Scroll down to the bottom of the release to the section called Additional Information about this Transaction. It says... "AIXTRON plans to file a registration statement on Form F-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, which will include a prospectus of AIXTRON and a proxy statement of Genus. Investors and security holders are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the business combination transaction referenced in the foregoing information, when it becomes available, because it will contain important information." Important, indeed. And it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Aixtron's stock (AIXTRON AG... FSE: AIX ISIN DE0005066203) is already listed in the Prime Standard and Tec-DAX of the German Stock Exchange (Deutsche Börse) and is included in the MSCI World Index. The really great thing about adding the Nasdaq to their trading opportunities the exposure they'll then be entitled to in the mainstream financial and business press as other Nasdaq companies enjoy, and speaking as a journalist, they'll then have the same accessible body of public information out there as their nearest competitor, Veeco. Veeco has long been listed on the Nasdaq (Symbol: VECO) and investors as well as the press will likely enjoy being able to access "apples to apples" types of information that will continue to bolster the credibility and testify to the continuing growth opportunities offered by the compound semi industry.

With all the globalization going on, it's hard to keep up with who's actually based where anyway anymore, but the net effect is "easier data" for everyone. What I find especially interesting is the immediate "Nasdaq-like" posture of Aixtron's investment-related press releases since the announced merger with Genus. The addition of the traditional "forward looking statements" mandatory caution that those of us who closely follow USA publicly held companies are so familiar with (which nobody ever reads or listens to anymore... typical "rules") is the first thing that caught my eye. It translates to mean... "this is an American company!" Personally, as an American-based international technology journalist, I find that as refreshing as when I met the new Aixtron management team at the annual Compound Semi Outlook Conference in Dallas last December. They're a great bunch of guys who are doing a terrific job helping put the compound semi industry on the worldwide semiconductor map. And soon, I'll be able to get their news and notice of their filings immediately, the same as I do from all the other Nasdaqers, as it hits. When you deal in 24/7 news coverage like we do... that's as good as it gets!

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