Massachusetts-based Onto Innovation Inc. has agreed to acquire a major business unit of Hungary's Semilab Group for $545mn, in a rare international spotlight for the Budapest-based semiconductor metrology firm.

The transaction will see Onto take over Semilab's materials analysis division, a strategic segment of the company's portfolio that has made it a critical supplier to global semiconductor manufacturers. The deal was later confirmed on the website of the Hungarian firm, which has remained largely under the media radar since its foundation.

The acquisition brings in four complementary product lines focused on inline wafer contamination monitoring and materials interface characterisation, technologies increasingly in demand as chipmakers adopt more complex and exotic materials across advanced nodes, 3D packaging and compound semiconductor applications.

Founded in 1989 by a team of physicists as a spin-off of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semilab has grown into a global supplier of high-precision measurement tools for the semiconductor industry.

It offers a portfolio of 48 product lines and 300+ unique tools, ranging from R&D-focused solutions to high-volume in-line production systems. Its technologies are based on advanced optical and electrical measurement techniques, supporting every phase of product innovation, from concept to integration.

The company remains scientist-led, and its technologies are widely used in consumer electronics and vehicles around the world. The company has R&D and product centres around the world, including the United States, Germany and China, and direct sales and service offices in all the major markets, including the US, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Singapore.

The 2024 Forbes Hungary list placed the metrology equipment specialist in the country's top ten most valuable firms. The magazine recently profiled the company, marking its first press appearance since the foundation, noting the firm's quiet but consistent success in a highly specialised field.

"This acquisition expands our portfolio of process control technologies, which work together to help customers achieve their yield targets," said Mike Plisinski, CEO of Onto Innovation. "We see strong technical synergies with our existing modelling and acoustic metrology technologies and believe this combination will deliver added value to our customers in high-growth segments such as AI and power devices."

The acquired product portfolio has grown at a 20% compound annual growth rate since 2021 and is expected to benefit further from integration with Onto's AI Diffract modelling engine and advanced dimensional metrology tools.

The transaction is expected to add over $130mn to Onto Innovation's annual revenue, be immediately accretive to gross and operating margins, and increase non-GAAP EPS by over 10% in year one.

The deal is projected to close in H2 2025 and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions in both countries.