AMTECH SYSTEMS, INC. ANNOUNCED
$5 MILLION FUNDING FOR GROWTH PLAN
Tempe, AZ - September 14, 2000 - AMTECH SYSTEMS, INC. (NASDAQ: ASYS) today
announced the completion of a $5 million private placement of common stock and
common stock purchase warrants. The proceeds will be used to fund the Company's
growth initiatives. The funds were raised through the private placement of
383,000 shares of the Company's common stock at a price of $13.75 per share and
five-year warrants to purchase 38,300 shares with an exercise price of $15.12
per share. Gross proceeds in the transaction were $5,266,000. Net proceeds to
the Company, after deducting fees of the placement agents, but before deduction
of legal and accounting fees were $4,690,000. The Company has agreed to register
the resale of the shares issued in the transaction, including those issuable
upon exercise of the warrants.
The Company stated that its growth plan includes continuing to expand its
optical component customer base and other strategies to increase sales of
existing products, sales growth from new products within its existing products
lines, begin sales of its new technology asher, which was previously announced
and continues to be in the research and development stage, and acquisitions of
synergistic product(s) or business(es). J.S. Whang, the Company's President and
CEO, stated "The first two components of our growth strategy are essentially
organic growth, which generally can be financed with existing resources. We
intend to use the funds raised today to bring the new technology asher to market
and for acquisitions. We plan to begin shipments of the new technology asher in
fiscal 2002, barring any complications in development. In addition, we are also
negotiating a bank line of credit to further increase funds available for
implementing our growth plan."
Amtech Systems, Inc. manufactures capital equipment, including silicon
wafer handling automation, semiconductor processing equipment and related
consumables used in fabricating semiconductor devices. Semiconductors, or
semiconductor chips, are fabricated on silicon wafer substrates, sliced from
ingots, and are part of the circuitry, or electronic components, of many
products, including computers, telecommunications devices, automotive products,
consumer goods and industrial automation and control systems. The Company's
semiconductor handling and processing products currently address the polishing
of newly sliced silicon wafers and reclaimed test wafers and the oxidation and
deposition steps used in the fabrication of semiconductors. The Company has
recently found application for its products in the optical component market.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe
harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this
press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other
written statements made or to be made by Amtech Systems, Inc.) contains
statements that are forward-looking. Such forward looking information involves a
number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those discussed or anticipated by management.
Potential risks and uncertainties include, among other factors, industry
specific and general business conditions, competitive market conditions, success
of Amtech's growth and sales strategies, the possibility of customer changes in
delivery schedules, cancellation of orders, potential delays in product
shipments, delays in obtaining inventory parts from suppliers and failure to
satisfy customer acceptance requirements.
The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any of these
forward-looking statements for changing circumstances. For more information,
review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including, but not limited to, Amtech Systems, Inc.'s annual report on Form 10-K
and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
