ZICHRON YAACOV, Israel — Wafer inspection equipment company Negevtech Inc.

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has received $36 million in a fourth financing round at a company value of $54.5 million. Investors in this round include Intel Capital and Lehman Brothers, Munich-based Wellington Partners and a group of Israeli venture funds.
Arnon Gat, Negevtech’s chief executive officer, said he hoped it would be the last round of investment before an initial public offering of shares in the company in 2007.
Founded in 1999, Negevtech (Rehovot, Israel) has produced the 3100 high-resolution wafer defect inspection system that combines Negevtech's Step & Image technology with a high-resolution optical system. The company claims it is also the only system on the market today offering both high resolution brightfield and darkfield capabilities on the same platform. This dual-technology platform enables users to routinely find unique defects and smaller defects missed by competitors' systems, Negevtech claimed.