FEI Co. Acquires Tokyo Electron Property for $16.33M

HILLSBORO, OR-Tokyo Electron has sold its 27-acre former headquarters campus here to FEI Co. for $16.33 million, according to county records. The campus, located at 5350 NE Dawson Creek Dr., features two buildings; one with 68,000 sf for offices and one with 112,000 sf for R&D and manufacturing. It also features land that can hold another 110,000 sf of production/R&D space.

In a news release issued this morning, FEI says it will begin moving its operations, currently housed in 135,000-sf in five separate buildings throughout Hillsboro, to the new site later this year. Including planned tenant improvements, FEI says its total investment in the new location will be approximately $23 million.

FEI has been working up to the consolidation for three years now, says Integrated Commercial Real Estate Inc. president Mark Childs, who represented FEI in the transaction. As a result, Childs tells GlobeSt.com that four of the company’s five existing leaseholds will conveniently expire during the first quarter of next year. The fifth expires a year from now.

Earlier this month, FEI announced its proposed $1-billion merger with Veeco Instruments to form Veeco FEI Inc., with headquarters in Woodbury, New York. In making the announcement, management said FEI’s Oregon location would continue to be an important R&D, manufacturing and support site for the combined company.

FEI was founded in Oregon in 1971 and was one of the original companies in the Silicon Forest. FEI’s products allow advanced three-dimensional metrology, device editing, trimming and structural analysis for management of sub-micron structures including those found in integrated circuits, high density magnetic storage devices, industrial materials, chemical compounds and biological structures.

FEI currently employs nearly 1,600 employees worldwide with approximately 350 based in Hillsboro. Following the proposed merger with Veeco, the new company will have nearly 2,900 employees. Based on anticipated growth over the next few years, the company estimates that the Hillsboro location could be home to more than 500 Veeco FEI employees. Based on the company’s financial modeling, the cost of space for the purchased property compares favorably to the company’s current leases in Hillsboro.