AMKOR TECHNOLOGY ENTERS TAIWAN
SEMICONDUCTOR MARKET,
WILL ACQUIRE TWO ESTABLISHED ASSEMBLY AND TEST COMPANIES
CHANDLER, ARIZ., Mar. 9, 2001 - Amkor Technology
(Nasdaq - AMKR) is continuing the momentum of its announced
growth strategy in Asia by acquiring two established semiconductor
assembly and test companies in Taiwan, enabling the company's
rapid entry into that nation's growing semiconductor industry.
In separate transactions, Amkor will acquire Taiwan Semiconductor
Technology Corporation (TSTC) of Linkou, and Sampo Semiconductor
Corporation (SSC) of Lung-Tang. Both TSTC and SSC signed letters
of intent enabling negotiations to proceed. Both agreements
are expected to be finalized in April. Terms of the proposed
acquisitions were not disclosed. The purchase price will be
paid principally through the issuance of Amkor stock. The two
companies, which have combined revenues of approximately $100
million (USD), produce many of the high-demand semiconductor
package devices required for cell phones, lap and desktop computers,
hand-held devices and other popular applications.
"This is a first step in establishing a major Amkor presence
in Taiwan," said Amkor Chairman and CEO Jim Kim. "We
have had a goal to establish production capability near the
vast cluster of semiconductor wafer fabs in Taiwan. Now, we
will have two facilities and can begin immediately serving existing
customers while we seek new business from among companies using
the local wafer fabs," Kim said.
TSTC, which began production in 1999, is a joint venture company
of which Amkor is a 25 percent partner. Other key joint venture
partners include Acer Incorporated, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co. Ltd., (TSMC), Chinfon Semiconductor Co., and Scientek International
Investment Corporation.
"We have been fortunate to have excellent partners in this
JV company and are looking forward to building on the foundation
they have established," said John Boruch, Amkor President
and COO.
Sampo Semiconductor Corporation began production in late 1997
and is principally owned by Sampo Corporation, a major manufacturer
of home appliances. The Sampo facility at Lung-Tang, located
near the Hsin-Chu Science-based Industrial Park has 270,000
sq ft. and is expandable to 560,000 sq. ft.
"TSTC and SSC bring to Amkor an impressive list of customers,
products, skilled personnel and solid relationships within the
Taiwan semiconductor industry," Boruch said. "At the
same time, Amkor brings significant new value to existing and
potential customers, including more than 30 years of leadership
in the assembly and test industry, a wide breadth of products,
leading edge technologies and considerable economies of scale."
These acquisitions are a continuation of Amkor's announced expansion
and geographic positioning roadmap. Amkor recently formed a
joint venture with Toshiba in Japan, and announced the establishment
of a new assembly and test facility near Shanghai, China.
About Amkor Technology:
Amkor Technology, Inc. is the world's largest provider of contract
microelectronics manufacturing services. The company offers
semiconductor companies and electronics OEMs a complete set
of microelectronic design and manufacturing services, including
deep sub-micron wafer fabrication; wafer probe, wafer mapping,
characterization and reliability testing; IC packaging design
and assembly; multi-chip module design and assembly; and final
testing. More information on Amkor is available from the company's
SEC filings and on Amkor's web site: www.amkor.com.
For more information, contact:
Annie Ho
Always Communications
(852) 2855-7819
annieh@agrapha-group.com
Ken Jensen
Director - Communications
1(480) 821-2408 Ext. 5130
kjens@amkor.com
Jeff Luth
Vice President - Investor Relations
1(610) 431-9600
jluth@amkor.com