October 27, 2004 – KLA-Tencor announced it has acquired the Wafer Inspection Systems business of Inspex, Inc., a US company owned by Photonics Management Corp., which is a subsidiary of Hamamatsu Photonics KK of Japan, for an undisclosed amount.
Under terms of the agreement, the specific assets acquired by KLA-Tencor include all patents, technology, software, spare parts, and inventory related to Inspex’s wafer inspection business, which halted production when the company filed for bankruptcy in November 2003. The acquisition does not include other Inspex assets, such as the Data Management Software business, which was acquired by a separate party earlier this year.
The terms of the agreement provide that KLA-Tencor assures Inspex’s existing customers have access to uninterrupted support for their installed base of tools. The agreement also provides that KLA-Tencor maintains support for a minimum of four years and offers a comprehensive scope of global services, including 24×7 Customer Response Centers, flexible support programs, and time and materials services. Customers that own Inspex tools can contact the appropriate KLA-Tencor 24×7 regional Customer Response Center.