SiliconBeat

Shares of Asyst Technologies shot up 28.6 percent, or $1.12, to $5.03 Wednesday after the company revealed that it’s board is mulling over another offer to buy the maker of chip-making equipment.

The offer came from Aquest Systems, a company headed Mihir Parikh, an Asyst founder and former chief executive who in 2003 alleged wrongful termination from the company and discrimination, as well as as fraud, deceit, and defamation. They settled out of court.

The suggested price of $6.50 a share improves on an attempt the company made in February in concert with the Gores Group to buy Asyst for somewhere between $5 and $6 a share, an offer that was later withdrawn. Gores figures in as an investor as well behind the new proposal.

The latest offer was communicated a week ago in a letter Parikh sent to Asyst CEO Steve Schwartz, the text of which was published by Asyst today in a press release. In it, Parikh writes:

“As the founder of Asyst and CEO for over 18 years, I am especially concerned about not affecting employee morale and customer satisfaction associated with Asyst, globally. As such, for now, we are willing to keep this communication confidential and to meet with you to discuss an appropriate plan for the Asyst Board of Directors to consider our proposal.”

Asyst met with Parikh yesterday to further discuss the proposal. “Aquest itself does not have the financial capability to fund and close a potential acquisition of this magnitude on the indicated financial terms,” wrote Schwartz in a letter to Parikh after the meeting, attributing that fact to Parikh himself.

It is probably no coincidence that Asyst amended and restated a shareholder rights plan — more
commonly known as a “poison pill” — that was set to expire the day after the new offer by Aquest was made. Among other changes to the plan, the company extended the expiration date by a year.

Private investor Bryant Riley, whose hedge fund owns 2.6 percent of Asyst’s shares, expressed
“grave concern” over Asyst’s “failure to enter into serious discussions with Aquest”
regarding its proposal, according to a press release filed today with the SEC. Riley also
claims that Asyst’s CEO Schwartz acknowledged in a conversation July 8 that the previous offer
to buy Asyst at a price range of from $5 to $6 was a “credible offer”.