Kulicke & Soffa Signs Agreement to Acquire Alphasem and Enter Die Bonder Market
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Fort Washington, PA-October 12, 2006-Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: KLIC) today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Alphasem, a leading supplier of die bonder equipment, from Dover Technologies International, Inc., a subsidiary of Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV). The purchase price is $30 million, subject to a working capital adjustment. The acquisition is expected to close on or about November 3, 2006, and is subject to customary closing conditions.
K&S equipment segment vice president, Christian Rheault, commented on the agreement, "The acquisition of Alphasem is a natural extension of K&S's core equipment business into die bonding equipment. The die bonding process precedes the wire bonding step in semiconductor chip manufacturing, and normally utilizes adjacent floor space and a common engineering team. This supplier consolidation will enhance our ability to provide solutions to our customers across a greater span of the semiconductor assembly process."
He added, "According to VLSI Research, the die bonder market was $520 million in calendar year 2005. The Alphasem team has good market presence, provides strong engineering and process expertise, and has demonstrated a long standing commitment to the die bonder market. The combined Alphasem/K&S organization will allow us to better serve our customers' needs while further expanding our overall semiconductor assembly equipment market presence."
Mr. Rheault concluded, "Wire bonders and die bonders share many common functions, software features, sub-assemblies, and components. We believe joining the engineering and manufacturing expertise of Alphasem and K&S will yield superior equipment platforms."
About Alphasem
Alphasem is a leading supplier of die bonder equipment and MEMS packaging equipment. In order to maintain its technical leadership, the company invests substantially in research and development. It has long-term experience and expertise in demanding technologies such as air bearings and volumetric dispense systems. In 2005, Alphasem generated sales of approximately $60 million for die bonders and related materials, with 260 employees.
About Kulicke & Soffa
Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is the world's leading supplier of semiconductor wire bonding assembly equipment. K&S is the only major supplier to the semiconductor assembly industry that provides customers with semiconductor assembly equipment along with the complementing packaging materials that contact the surface of the customer's semiconductor devices. The ability to provide these assembly related products is unique to Kulicke & Soffa, and allows us to develop system solutions to the new technology challenges inherent in assembling and packaging next-generation semiconductor devices. Kulicke & Soffa's web site address is www.kns.com.
K&S Contact: Michael Sheaffer, 215-784-6411, 215-784-6167 fax, msheaffer@kns.com
