Applied to Buy Consilium and Enter MES Arena

Staff -- Semiconductor International, 12/1/1998

Applied Materials, Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.) and Consilium Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) have reached an agreement for Applied to acquire Consilium in a stock-for-stock merger. The proposed acquisition would combine Applied's capabilities as a leading semiconductor equipment company with those of the leading independent supplier of integrated semiconductor and electronics manufacturing execution systems (MES) software and services. The acquisition, which will be accounted for as a pooling-of-interests, is expected to close by year's end or in early 1999 subject to, among other matters, regulatory approval and approval of Consilium's stockholders.