Cabot Microelectronics Corporation (Nasdaq: CCMP), the world’s leading supplier of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) polishing slurries and growing CMP pad supplier to the semiconductor industry, announced today that it completed its acquisition of Epoch Material Co., Ltd. (Epoch) for a total purchase price of approximately US$66 million. Epoch was a consolidated subsidiary of Eternal Chemical Co., Ltd. (Eternal) (TAI:1717), and specializes in the development, manufacture and sale of copper CMP slurries and CMP cleaning solutions to the semiconductor industry, as well as color filter slurries to the liquid crystal display (LCD) industry. As planned, Cabot Microelectronics initially obtained 90 percent of Epoch’s stock, with the remaining 10 percent to be transferred to the company from Eternal in eighteen months.

“We are excited to begin integrating Epoch with our business, which we believe will enhance our collective ability to innovate, deliver and support high performing, world-class products to our customers around the world,” stated Mr. William Noglows, Chairman and CEO of Cabot Microelectronics Corporation. “We expect that Epoch’s success in copper CMP slurries, along with its strong customer relationships and extensive infrastructure in Taiwan, will provide an excellent opportunity to strengthen and grow our core CMP consumables business, primarily in the area of copper CMP. Additionally, we plan to leverage our global infrastructure to expand the sale of Epoch branded products to the global semiconductor industry.”

ABOUT CABOT MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION

Cabot Microelectronics Corporation, headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, is the world's leading supplier of CMP slurries used in semiconductor and data storage manufacturing. The company's products play a critical role in the production of the most advanced semiconductor devices, enabling the manufacture of smaller, faster and more complex devices by its customers. Since becoming an independent public company in 2000, the company has grown to approximately 950 employees on a global basis, including Epoch employees. The company's vision is to become the world leader in shaping, enabling and enhancing the performance of surfaces, so the company is leveraging its expertise in CMP slurry formulation, materials and polishing techniques developed for the semiconductor industry and applying it to demanding surface modification applications in other industries where shaping, enabling and enhancing the performance of surfaces is critical to success.