Cabot Microelectronics
Corporation (Nasdaq: CCMP), the world's leading supplier of chemical mechanical
planarization (CMP) polishing slurries and growing CMP pad supplier to the semiconductor
industry, announced today that it completed its acquisition of Epoch Material
Co., Ltd. (Epoch) for a total purchase price of approximately US$66 million.
Epoch was a consolidated subsidiary of Eternal Chemical Co., Ltd. (Eternal)
(TAI:1717), and specializes in the development, manufacture and sale of copper
CMP slurries and CMP cleaning solutions to the semiconductor industry, as well
as color filter slurries to the liquid crystal display (LCD) industry. As planned,
Cabot Microelectronics initially obtained 90 percent of Epoch's stock,
with the remaining 10 percent to be transferred to the company from Eternal
in eighteen months.
“We are excited to begin integrating Epoch with our business, which we
believe will enhance our collective ability to innovate, deliver and support
high performing, world-class products to our customers around the world,”
stated Mr. William Noglows, Chairman and CEO of Cabot Microelectronics Corporation.
“We expect that Epoch’s success in copper CMP slurries, along with
its strong customer relationships and extensive infrastructure in Taiwan, will
provide an excellent opportunity to strengthen and grow our core CMP consumables
business, primarily in the area of copper CMP. Additionally, we plan to leverage
our global infrastructure to expand the sale of Epoch branded products to the
global semiconductor industry.”
Cabot Microelectronics Corporation, headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, is the
world's leading supplier of CMP slurries used in semiconductor and data storage
manufacturing. The company's products play a critical role in the production
of the most advanced semiconductor devices, enabling the manufacture of smaller,
faster and more complex devices by its customers. Since becoming an independent
public company in 2000, the company has grown to approximately 950 employees
on a global basis, including Epoch employees. The company's vision is to become
the world leader in shaping, enabling and enhancing the performance of surfaces,
so the company is leveraging its expertise in CMP slurry formulation, materials
and polishing techniques developed for the semiconductor industry and applying
it to demanding surface modification applications in other industries where
shaping, enabling and enhancing the performance of surfaces is critical to success.
For more information about Cabot Microelectronics Corporation, visit www.cabotcmp.com
or contact Amy Ford, Director of Investor Relations at (630) 499-2600.