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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Capitalizer who wrote (28875)	3/1/2006 2:42:33 AM
From: etchmeister	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95743

ADEX is a great company One of those (metrology) nuggets that were able to compete with KLAC - looks like it was well received; bow and stress of 300 mm substrates is very critical - it's piggybacking MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR); every freaking 300mm substrate (wafer) needs to be inspected (I suppose). KLA-Tencor: ADE deal to boost results E-mail \| Print \| RSS Feed \| Disable live quotes By Matt Andrejczak, MarketWatch Last Update: 4:31 PM ET Feb 27, 2006 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- KLA-Tencor Corp., the No. 2 U.S. chip-equipment maker, said Monday its planned deal to buy ADE Corp. will boost earnings, even without cost cutting. "Due to the current financial performance of ADE, the deal is accretive to earnings without synergies and we see potential for synergies," KLA-Tencor Chief Executive Officer Rick Wallace said in a conference call with analysts. The company declined to provide specific details about how much the acquisition would help its bottom line. It said the deal would add to earnings in the first full year after the transaction closes. On Feb. 23, KLA-Tencor (KLAC : KLAC News , chart, profile, more Last: Add to portfolio Analyst Create alert Insider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: KLAC, , ) said it would buy ADE for $488 million in stock. Monday's call was the first time the companies addressed analysts about the deal. The transaction, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, is expected to close before the end of July. KLA-Tencor, of San Jose, Calif., makes tools that help test for defects during the chipmaking process. Last month, it withdrew its unsolicited bid for August Technology, a company it had courted for more than a year. While the amount of cost cutting is still unclear, KLA-Tencor aims to keep ADE's facilities and workers in Arizona and Massachusetts. "There is focus on maintaining the work force," CEO Wallace commented. Based in Westwood, Mass., ADE Corp. (ADEX : ADEX News , chart, profile, more Last: Add to portfolio Analyst Create alert Insider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: ADEX, , ) supplies equipment to manufacturers who make the wafers that chips are stamped on. Its tools measure for flatness and defects of bare wafers. In fiscal 2005, it reported sales of $117 million. It has about 415 employees. KLA-Tencor intends to use its bigger sales force to push ADE products. One segment is the budding market for tools used to produce 12-inch wafers, a fast-growing area. Electronics makers are ramping up production of 12-inch wafers as consumer electronic devices become more multi-functional. The bigger wafers increase the amount of chip space while also lowering the overall production cost per chip. In trading Monday, KLA-Tencor rose 17 cents to $51.97. ADE added 10 cents to $32.85. End of Story