COHU INC Debt Disclosure

3.	Borrowings and Credit Agreements

 

The following table is a summary of our borrowings as of December 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024:

 

		Fiscal year ended
(in thousands)		December 27, 2025				December 28, 2024
Convertible notes		$	287,500			$	-
Bank term loans-Kita			1,530				1,694
Construction loan-Cohu GmbH			6,252				-
Revolving credit facility			9,360				6,473
Lines of credit			447				633
Total debt			305,089				8,800
Less: financing fees and discount			(9,012	)			-
Less: current portion			(11,051	)			(1,748	)
Total long-term debt		$	285,026			$	7,052

 

The debt principal payments, excluding financing lease obligations, for the next five years and thereafter are as follows (in thousands):

 

2026		$	11,051
2027			1,249
2028			1,319
2029			1,125
2030			629
Thereafter			289,716
Total		$	305,089

 

Convertible Senior Notes Due 2031

 

On September 29, 2025, we issued $287.5 million aggregate principal amount of 1.50% convertible senior notes due 2031. The Notes include the full exercise by the initial purchasers on September 25, 2025 of their option to purchase up to an additional $27.5 million principal amount of the Notes. The Notes are senior unsecured obligations and bear interest at a coupon rate of 1.50% per annum, with interest payable semiannually in arrears on January 15 and July 15 of each year, beginning on January 15, 2026. The Notes will mature on January 15, 2031, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased in accordance with their terms.

 

Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding October 15, 2030, noteholders will have the right to convert their Notes only upon the occurrence of certain events. On or after October 15, 2030, noteholders may convert all or any portion of their Notes at any time at their election until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date. Upon conversion, we will satisfy the conversion obligations by paying cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the Notes to be converted and paying and/or delivering cash, shares of common stock or a combination of cash and shares of common stock, at our election, in respect of the remainder, if any, of the conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes being converted. The initial conversion rate for the Notes is 36.7975 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $27.18 per share of common stock), which represents an approximately 32.5% conversion premium over the last reported sale price of $20.51 per share of our common stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market on September 24, 2025 (the “Reference Price”). The conversion rate (and accordingly the conversion price) is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events. In addition, upon certain corporate events or upon a notice of redemption (as described below), we will, under certain circumstances, increase the conversion rate for noteholders who convert Notes in connection with such a corporate event or convert their Notes called (or deemed called) for redemption during the related redemption period, as the case may be.

 

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The Notes will not be redeemable before January 22, 2029. The Notes will be redeemable, in whole or in part, for cash at our option at any time, and from time to time, on or after January 22, 2029 and prior to the 51st scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, if (i) the Notes are “freely tradable” (as defined in the indenture governing the Notes), and certain accrued and unpaid additional interest, if any, has been paid in full, as of the first interest payment date occurring on or before the date we send such notice and (ii) the last reported sale price per share of our common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price for a specified period of time. The redemption price will be equal to the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date.

 

If a “fundamental change” (as defined in the indenture governing the Notes) occurs, then, subject to certain conditions, noteholders may require us to repurchase their Notes for cash. The repurchase price will be equal to the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable repurchase date.

 

Our net proceeds from the offering were approximately $278.9 million, after deducting the initial purchasers’ discounts and commissions but before estimated offering expenses. We used approximately $31.4 million of the net proceeds to enter into the capped call transactions that are described in Note 9, “Equity”. We intend to use the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

 

The Notes are recorded as liabilities in accordance with ASC 470. Issuance costs will be amortized to interest expense over the term of the Notes using the effective interest method. Upon issuance, we evaluated the conversion feature for potential separation as an embedded derivative under ASC 815 and determined that the conversion feature did not meet the criteria for derivative accounting.

 

The effective interest rate for the Notes is 2.2% after considering the effect of the accretion of the related debt discount over the term of the Notes. For the year ended December 27, 2025, total interest expense related to the Notes was $1.5 million with coupon interest expense of $1.1 million and amortization of debt discount of $0.4 million. As of December 27, 2025, the remaining unamortized debt discount of the Notes was $9.0 million. At December 27, 2025, the outstanding Notes balance, net of discount, was $278.5 million.

 

As of December 27, 2025, the fair value of the Notes was $321.9 million. The measurement of the fair value of Notes is based on the last traded price of the Notes as of December 27, 2025 and is considered a Level 2 fair value measurement.

 

Credit Agreement

 

On October 1, 2018, we entered into a Credit Agreement providing for a $350.0 million Term Loan Credit Facility and borrowed the full amount to finance a portion of the Xcerra acquisition. Loans under the Term Loan Credit Facility were amortized in equal quarterly installments of 0.25% of the original principal amount, with the balance payable at maturity. All outstanding principal and interest in respect of the Term Loan Credit Facility would have been due on or before October 1, 2025. The loans under the Term Loan Credit Facility bore interest, at Cohu’s option, at a floating annual rate equal to LIBOR plus a margin of 3.00%. On June 16, 2023, in connection with the discontinuation of LIBOR, we entered into an amendment to our Term Loan Credit Facility, which provided for the transition of the benchmark interest rate from LIBOR to SOFR. Effective with the interest period beginning July 1, 2023, LIBOR was replaced with Adjusted Term SOFR, a floating annual rate equal to SOFR plus a margin of 3.0%.

 

On February 9, 2024, we made a cash payment of $29.3 million to repay the remaining outstanding amounts owed under our Term Loan Credit Facility. We accounted for the transaction as a debt extinguishment, and in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 we recognized a loss of $0.2 million due to the recognition of the remaining debt discount and deferred financing costs.

 

Kita Term Loans

 

We have a series of term loans with Japanese financial institutions primarily related to the expansion of our facility in Osaka, Japan. The loans are collateralized by the facility and land, carry interest rates ranging from 0.05% to 0.96%, and expire at various dates through 2034. At December 27, 2025, the outstanding loan balance was $1.5 million, and $0.2 million of the outstanding balance is presented as current installments of long-term debt in our consolidated balance sheets. At December 28, 2024, the outstanding loan balance was $1.7 million, and $0.2 million of the outstanding balance is presented as current installments of long-term debt in our consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of the debt approximates the carrying value at December 27, 2025.

 

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The term loans are denominated in Japanese Yen and, as a result, amounts disclosed herein will fluctuate because of changes in currency exchange rates.

 

Construction Loans

 

In July 2019 and June 2020, one of our wholly owned subsidiaries located in Germany entered into a series of Loan Facilities with a German financial institution providing it with total borrowings of up to €10.1 million. The Loan Facilities were utilized to finance the expansion of our facility in Kolbermoor, Germany and are secured by the land and the existing building on the site. The Loan Facilities bear interest at agreed upon rates based on the facility amounts as discussed below.

 

The first facility totaling €3.4 million has been fully drawn and is payable over 10 years at a fixed annual interest rate of 0.8%. Principal and interest payments are due each quarter over the duration of the facility ending in September 2029. The second facility totaling €5.2 million has been fully drawn and is payable over 15 years at an annual interest rate of 1.05%, which is fixed until April 2027. Principal and interest payments are due each month over the duration of the facility ending in January 2034. The third facility totaling €0.9 million has been fully drawn and is payable over 10 years at an annual interest rate of 1.2%. Principal and interest payments are due each month over the duration of the facility ending in May 2030.

 

At December 27, 2025, total outstanding borrowings under the Loan Facilities was $6.3 million with $1.1 million of the total outstanding balance being presented as current installments of long-term debt in our consolidated balance sheets. At December 28, 2024, total outstanding borrowings under the Loan Facilities was $6.5 million with $0.9 million of the total outstanding balance being presented as current installments of long-term debt in our consolidated balance sheets. The loans are denominated in Euros and, as a result, amounts disclosed herein will fluctuate because of changes in currency exchange rates. The fair value of the debt approximates the carrying value at December 27, 2025.

 

Revolving Credit Facility

 

On December 30, 2024, our wholly owned subsidiary in Malaysia entered into a revolving credit facility with a Malaysian financial institution that provides up to MYR 40 million, of which MYR 37.9 million was subsequently drawn. The revolving credit facility was utilized to finance the purchase of our leased facility in Melaka, Malaysia. Interest is due monthly and is calculated based on the lender’s Effective Cost of Funds plus a spread of 0.5%. The revolving credit facility is secured by the land and building. At December 27, 2025, $9.4 million was outstanding under the revolving credit facility and the rate of interest was 4.04%. As this revolving credit facility agreement renews monthly, it has been included in short-term borrowings in our consolidated balance sheets. The revolving credit is denominated in Malaysian Ringgits and, as a result, amounts disclosed herein will fluctuate because of changes in currency exchange rates.

 

Lines of Credit

 

As a result of our acquisition of Kita, we assumed a series of revolving credit facilities with various financial institutions in Japan. The credit facilities renew monthly and provide Kita with access to working capital totaling up to 660 million Japanese Yen of which 70 million Japanese Yen is drawn. At December 27, 2025, total borrowings outstanding under the revolving lines of credit were $0.4 million. As these credit facility agreements renew monthly, they have been included in short-term borrowings in our consolidated balance sheets.

 

The revolving lines of credit are denominated in Japanese Yen and, as a result, amounts disclosed herein will fluctuate because of changes in currency exchange rates.

 

Our wholly owned subsidiary in Switzerland has one available line of credit which provides borrowings of up to a total of 2.0 million Swiss Francs, a portion of which is reserved for tax guarantees. At December 27, 2025, and December 28, 2024, no amounts were outstanding under this line of credit.

 

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