Very interesting story re INTC and SVGI...
Could this mean that INTC is singularly unimpressed with the ASML DUV scanner that it's evaluating? <vbg>
Ian.
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biz.yahoo.com
Thursday May 6, 8:09 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Intel Invests $15 Million in Silicon Valley Group
Companies Also Enter Joint Development Agreement to Accelerate
Next Generation Photolithography Tools
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 1999--Intel and Silicon Valley Group, Inc. announced today that Intel has made a $15 million equity investment in Silicon Valley Group (SVG).
The two companies also will work together on the development of next generation photolithography tools used for manufacturing future Intel microprocessors. Intel will purchase nonvoting preferred stock, convertible into SVG common stock. When converted into common shares and including Intel's current holdings, they will own 4.7% of SVG's outstanding stock.
In addition to the equity investment, the companies said they would enter a joint development agreement on SVG's future 157-nanometer (nm) lithography technology. Lithography is the process by which microprocessor circuits are imprinted on silicon wafers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. While still in early development, advanced lithography tools using SVG's 157-nm technology is expected to allow Intel to extend its use of optical lithography through future generations of microprocessors. Early tools are expected to be available in 2002 and are being designed to extend the ability to print circuits for the 0.10-micron range and beyond.
''Advanced photolithography solutions are a critical element in our effort to develop each new generation of Intel microprocessors with smaller features and higher performance,'' said Mike Splinter, Intel Senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group. ''We want to work with SVG to bring these tools to the market as quickly as possible to meet our microprocessor roadmap.''
''SVG is pleased that Intel has made this investment,'' said Papken Der Torossian, Chairman and chief executive officer of SVG. ''We look forward to working with them to advance and commercialize our next generation, leading edge 157nm scanning technology which would be available for Intel as well as other semiconductor manufacturers.''
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: the early development stage of the products referenced in this press release; the unpredictability of the design and the development process, which makes delays in product release schedules likely; the unproven nature of the technologies references in this press release, which make it uncertain that the
products being developed will prove viable or commercially attractive; the unproven market for the products referenced in this press release; intense competition by the other semiconductor manufacturing equipment developers; and other factors detailed in Silicon Valley Group's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 1998.
SVG is a leading manufacturer of automated wafer processing equipment for the worldwide semiconductor industry. The
company designs, manufactures and markets technically sophisticated equipment used in the primary stages of semiconductor
manufacturing. Its products include photoresist processing equipment; oxidation, diffusion and low-pressure chemical vapor
deposition processing systems; photolithography exposure tools that use step-and-scan technology; and precision optical
components and systems. SVG is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol SVGI. The company's World Wide
Web address is: svg.com
Intel is the world's largest chipmaker and a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products.
Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom. |
