(Yicai) Oct. 16 -- Leading Chinese semiconductor equipment supplier Naura Technology Group will invest CNY405 million (USD60.5 million) to buy a semiconductor packaging equipment startup that has not yet achieved mass production.

Naura yesterday signed an equity transfer agreement with a Beijing-based integrated circuit industry investment fund to acquire a 100 percent stake in Beijing Nuohe Jianwei Equipment to form synergies with its existing business and improve its ability to serve customers, the Beijing-based buyer announced on the same day.

Nuohe Jianwei’s core product is a semiconductor hybrid bonding equipment for advanced packaging, mainly used for three-dimensional integrated packaging of advanced chip products, such as system-on-a-chip, High Bandwidth Memory, and chiplets.

Nuohe Jianwei has key technological capabilities of hybrid bonding equipment production and has made products that have achieved nanometer-level precision alignment and received repeated orders, Naura noted. Nuohe Jianwei is cooperating with top clients to carry out equipment verification and negotiating for intent orders, showing strong market competitiveness and good development prospects.

However, because Nuohe Jianwei’s core products are still in the technological evolution, validation, and market introduction stage, the company has low revenue and remains in the red due to heavy research and development investment, according to Naura.

Nuohe Jianwei reported net losses of CNY29.9 million (USD4.5 million) last year and CNY9.4 million (USD1.4 million) in the first half of this year. It had CNY311 million in net assets at the end of the first half.

The hybrid bonding equipment market is experiencing rapid growth, as advanced packaging is reshaping the market landscape of semiconductor back-end devices, according to research firm Yole Group. Hybrid bonding is one of the fastest-growing segments and is expected to reach USD397 million by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of over 21 percent.

Naura launched the Qomola HPD30, a 12-inch die-to-wafer hybrid bonding equipment, in March. According to the company’s semiannual financial statement, this equipment can be used in various scenarios, such as wafer-level 3D integration and heterogeneous chip integration, and has completed client verification and obtained mass orders.

Naura’s shares [SHE: 002371] were trading down 2.7 percent at CNY593.27 (USD88.69) as of 2.20 p.m. in Shenzhen today.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione