Nanometrics Inc. and August Technology Corp. have announced that they plan to merge.  

As a single corporate entity, August Nanometrics Inc. will provide comprehensive inspection, and measurement and analysis systems to the global semiconductor, flat-panel display and related microelectronic industries. The transaction is conditioned on receiving regulatory and stakeholder approvals, along with the approval of the Internal Revenue Service. The companies expect to close the transaction during the second quarter of 2005.

“This merger makes great business sense,” says John Heaton, Nanometrics CEO. “We join two strong product lines with little overlap, and bring to market a better fab-wide solution with advanced macro inspection. By combining R&D, service and other resources, we believe we can deliver excellent quality products to our customers.”

For more information, visit www.nanometrics.com or www.augusttech.com.