Novellus Systems, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Peter Wolters, AG, a privately held manufacturer of high-precision machine manufacturing tools headquartered in Rendsburg, Germany. The transaction adds a series of industry-leading machine tools to Novellus' existing portfolio and broadens the company's non-IC-related business opportunities. The deal also brings a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) product line that will augment Novellus' existing CMP technology for semiconductor manufacturing. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2004. Novellus established its position in the machining equipment and CMP areas when it acquired the assets of SpeedFam IPEC in December 2002.

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