VEECO NEWS:
Veeco Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire OptiMag Inc.
PLAINVIEW, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 1999--Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO - news) today announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire OptiMag Inc., of San Diego, CA.
OptiMag, a development stage company founded in 1998, is a supplier of automated optical defect inspection and process control equipment for the data storage thin film magnetic head industry. The intended acquisition is subject to a number of conditions including completion of a definitive purchase agreement, final approval by the Board of Directors of Veeco and OptiMag and receipt of any necessary governmental consent.
Edward H. Braun, Chairman, President and CEO of Veeco, commented, ''OptiMag provides an important addition to our in-line metrology product offering for Veeco's worldwide data storage customers, which includes atomic force microscopes, optical interferometers and stylus profilers. OptiMag's high throughput optical inspection equipment detects and classifies visual defects in magnetoresistive (MR) and giant magnetoresistive (GMR) thin film heads at slider level to resolutions of .175u. Initial installations have been completed at Seagate, IBM and Fujitsu.''
David T. Cornaby, OptiMag's President and CEO, stated, ''This partnership with Veeco will be integral to a successful product launch for OptiMag, as it provides us the ability to leverage their market presence and customer base of the leading worldwide data storage companies. In addition, Veeco's critical mass, worldwide service organization and customer support will be an enormous benefit to our company.''
The OptiMag Automated Slider Inspection System (OASIS(TM)) is a precision automated slider defect inspection station for high throughput production. It can also be used in research and development where high resolution imaging or large statistical sample sizes are desired. The system acquires slider images (nano, pico, or femto), using a 4 megapixel digital camera, and the user can define the desired combination of inspection views of the air bearing surface and the pole tip. The system is supplied with flexible software to meet the differing specifications of volume head manufacturers. OASIS(TM) technology is extendable to meet the inspection needs of other precision applications such as printer heads and biotechnology.
Veeco Instruments Inc., headquartered in Plainview, New York is a worldwide leader in Metrology tools for the data storage and semiconductor industries, and Process Equipment etch and deposition tools for the data storage industry. Manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, California and Arizona. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific.
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