BILTHOVEN, NETHERLANDS -- 06/20/08 --
BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands - June
20, 2008 - ASM International N.V.
(NASDAQ: ASMI and Euronext Exchange in Amsterdam: ASM). On June 17
ASMI received a combined, unsolicited indicative offer from Applied
Materials and Francisco Partners for all of its Front-End activities.
The offer consists of an offer from Applied Materials for its Atomic
Layer Deposition (ALD) and Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition
(PECVD) activities with an initial value indication in the range of
USD 400 million to USD 500 million and an offer from Francisco
Partners for the remainder of its Front-End activities, including its
Epitaxy and Vertical Furnaces activities, with an initial value
indication in the range of USD 225 million to USD 300 million.
After due and careful consideration the Management and Supervisory
Boards of ASMI believe that the unsolicited offer for part of our
Company significantly undervalues the Front-End business and fails to
reflect its future prospects.
The wide offer value range, the complex structure of the combined
offer and the unclear terms of the partnership furthermore represent
significant uncertainty and execution risks for ASMI's shareholders,
employees and other stakeholders.
As such the Management and Supervisory Boards do not
believe the offer is in the best interest of its shareholders,
employees and other stakeholders. ASMI therefore rejects the
unsolicited offer.
About ASM
ASM International N.V., headquartered in Bilthoven, the Netherlands,
and its subsidiaries design and manufacture equipment and materials
used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International and its
subsidiaries provide production solutions for wafer processing
(Front-end segment) as well as assembly and packaging (Back-end
segment) through facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and
Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on NASDAQ (symbol ASMI)
and the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol ASM). For more
information, visit ASMI's web site at www.asm.com.
# # #
Safe Harbor Statement under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995: All matters discussed in this statement, except
for any historical data, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to,
economic conditions and trends in the semiconductor industry
generally and the timing of the industry cycles specifically,
currency fluctuations, the timing
of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive
factors, litigation involving intellectual property, shareholder and
other issues, commercial and economic disruption due to natural
disasters, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political
instability, epidemics and other risks indicated in the Company's
filings from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's reports on
Form 20-F and Form 6-K. The Company assumes no obligation nor intends
to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future
developments or circumstances.
Copyright © Hugin AS 2008. All rights reserved.
Contacts:
In the US:
Mary Jo Dieckhaus
Investor Relations
+1 212-986-2900
Email Contact
At ASMI:
Erik Kamerbeek
Investor Relations
+31 30 229 8500
Email Contact
