"Solid state lighting is a component of an energy-efficient future," said Dr. Mark Pinto, senior VP, corporate chief technology officer and general manager of Applied's Energy and Environmental Solutions Organization. "OLED technology aligns well with our equipment used for manufacturing flat panel displays. We've already delivered a system that is now in pilot manufacturing at a European lighting manufacturer. Through the LILi project, we expect to further optimize this technology to increase the quality and drive down the cost for OLED lighting applications."

"Merck has a wealth of experience in developing and scaling up the complex organic compounds that are essential for stable OLED manufacturing," said Dr. Udo Heider, VP, Liquid Crystals/OLED, Merck KGaA. "The LILi project is a great opportunity for us to test new organic materials with manufacturing equipment in order to validate their stability and performance on large area substrates."

"Innovation in OLED technology is one of the primary focuses of our institute," said Professor Wolfgang Kowalsky from TU-BS. "We're pleased to partner with Applied Materials and Merck to evaluate how our new high-efficiency OLED lighting device structures will perform in an industrial-scale environment."

The total cost of the OLED project will amount to approximately EUR7.49 million, which includes EUR3.26 million to be provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and EUR4.23 million to be contributed by the industry partners. The grant (FKZ 13N10611) is part of the BMBF's "OLED 2 - Organic Light Emitting Diodes - Phase 2" initiative, which seeks to support OLED collaborative research and encourage OLED manufacturing in Germany.

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company.

The Braunschweig University of Technology is the oldest technical university in Germany. It was founded in 1745 and is member of TU9, an incorporated society of the German Institutes of Technology.

Applied Materials is a developer of nanomanufacturing technology solutions with a portfolio of equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, electronics and energy efficient glass.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

"Applied Materials and Semitool have a track record of collaborating to develop equipment solutions for chip makers," said Randhir Thakur, senior VP and general manager of Applied's Silicon Systems Group. "Together with Semitool's people and products, we can help the industry move to smaller form factors and faster, lower power chips."

"As part of Applied Materials, we can accelerate the global adoption of the technologies Semitool has developed," said Ray Thompson, chairman of Semitool. "With this agreement, we are providing our employees with a future."

Under terms of an agreement approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Applied Materials will pay an aggregate purchase price of approximately $364 million based on the fully diluted capitalization of Semitool. The acquisition will be conducted pursuant to a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Semitool and is conditioned on the tender of at least 66 2/3 percent of Semitool's outstanding stock on a fully-diluted basis and other customary closing conditions including regulatory approval. Directors and executive officers of Semitool holding approximately 32 percent of Semitool's outstanding common stock have entered into agreements to tender their shares. Applied expects to commence the tender offer promptly and expects the offer to close by the end of calendar 2009. Following completion of the tender offer, Applied will acquire any remaining shares of Semitool through a second-step merger at the same price paid in the tender offer. Semitool will be operated as a business unit of Applied's Silicon Systems Group.

Semitool is a supplier of electrochemical plating and wafer surface preparation equipment used by chip packaging and chip making companies around the world.

Applied Materials is a developer of nanomanufacturing technology solutions offering equipment, services and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, electronics and energy-efficient glass.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

The Semitool board of directors has unanimously determined that the tender offer and the merger are fair to, and in the best interests of, Semitool's shareholders and has approved and adopted the merger agreement and approved the tender offer and the merger. The Semitool board of directors unanimously recommends that Semitool's shareholders tender their shares pursuant to the tender offer and, if required to consummate the merger, approve the merger agreement.

Applied Materials today will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, including the Offer to Purchase, setting forth in detail the terms and conditions of the tender offer. Semitool today will file with the SEC a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 setting forth in detail, among other things, the recommendation of Semitool's board of directors that Semitool shareholders accept the tender offer and tender their shares pursuant to the tender offer.

The Depositary for the tender offer is BNY Mellon Shareowner Services, 480 Washington Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey 07310, Attn: Corporate Actions Department. The Information Agent for the tender offer is Innisfree M&A Incorporated, 501 Madison Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those relating to Applied Materials' anticipated acquisition of Semitool. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as "expect," "believe," "may," "can," "should," "will," "forecast," "anticipate" or similar expressions, and include the assumptions that underlie such statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied, including but not limited to: the risk that the transaction will not be consummated in a timely manner or at all if, among other things, fewer than 66 2/3 percent of the shares of Semitool common stock are tendered, clearances under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act or the antitrust laws of Germany are not obtained, or other closing conditions are not satisfied; and other risks described in Applied Materials' filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements are based on managements' estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date hereof, and neither Applied Materials nor Semitool assume any obligation to update any such statement.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology(TM) solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, services and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy-efficient glass. At Semitool, we apply Nanomanufacturing Technology to improve the way people live. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.

About Semitool

Semitool designs, manufactures and supports highly engineered, multi-chamber, single-wafer and batch wet chemical processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor devices. The company's primary suites of equipment include electrochemical deposition systems for electroplating copper, gold, solder and other metals; surface preparation systems for cleaning, stripping and etching silicon wafers; and wafer transport container cleaning systems. The company's equipment is used in semiconductor fabrication front-end and back-end processes, including wafer-level packaging.

Headquartered in Kalispell, Montana, Semitool maintains sales and support centers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company's stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol SMTL. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.semitool.com.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This announcement is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase, nor a solicitation of an offer to sell, shares of Semitool. Holders of shares of Semitool are urged to read the relevant tender offer documents because they will contain important information that holders of Semitool securities should consider before making any decision regarding tendering their securities. Applied Materials and its acquisition subsidiary have filed tender offer materials with the SEC, and Semitool has filed a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement with respect to the offer. The tender offer materials (including an Offer to Purchase, a related Letter of Transmittal and certain other offer documents) and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement contain important information that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the tender offer. The Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, are available to all holders of shares of Semitool at no expense to them. The tender offer materials and the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement are available for free at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. Free copies of these documents may also be obtained by mailing a request to the information agent for the tender offer, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, 501 Madison Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, New York 10022; by calling toll free at (877) 717-3936 (shareholders) or collect at (212) 750-5833 (banks and brokers); and at www.appliedmaterials.com and www.semitool.com.

In addition to the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and certain other offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, Semitool and Applied Materials file annual and special reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any reports or other information filed by Applied Materials or Semitool at the SEC public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room. Applied Materials' and Semitool's filings with the SEC are also available to the public from commercial document-retrieval services and at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

SOURCE: Applied Materials, Inc.

Applied Materials, Inc. 
David Miller, 408-563-9582 
(business media) 
or 
Betty Newboe, 408-563-0647 
(technical media) 
or 
Michael Sullivan, 408-986-7977 
(financial community)