"It's going to be a nightmare for Intel's competitors," said G. Dan Hutcheson, chief executive of VLSI Research.

Now, "the equipment is made like they used to make Ferraris," said G. Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research, a San Jose market research company.

Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research, a Silicon Valley market research firm, remarked, "In semiconductors, capacity drives market share."

"Texas Instruments was in real trouble when Jerry Junkins took the helm," said G. Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research, a technology research company.

The Japanese increased their share to 39 percent from 24 percent in that period, and are expected to take the lead in a few years, VLSI Research said.

The equipment is so specialized that it is unusual to sell more than 100 a year of any machine, said G. Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research.

"Perkin-Elmer's got a machine that blows it all away," said Mr. Hutcheson, of VLSI Research.

"This has huge ramifications throughout the industry," said Risto Puhakka, president of VLSI Research, a chip industry consulting firm based in Santa Clara, Calif.

Still, the deal will make Canon a stronger future competitor than it otherwise would have been, Mr. Hutcheson of VLSI Research said.

"It's pretty phenomenal," said Dan Hutchinson, president of VLSI Research, a microchip technology market research firm based in San Jose, Calif.