FEI Company Closes Micrion Merger

Hillsboro, Ore. (PROTEXT) - FEI Company (Nasdaq: FEIC) today announced the closing of its merger with Micrion Corporation, a leading developer and provider of focused ion beam (FIB) systems for semiconductor mask repair and device edit applications. Massachusetts-based Micrion reported nearly $56 million in revenues for its fiscal year ending June 30, 1997 and has approximately 200 employees. "We are pleased to have concluded this merger," said Vahe' A. Sarkissian, president and chief executive officer of FEI Company. "With the addition of Micrion products, technology and people, we have an enhanced capability to deliver and support focused solutions for our customers. We will move quickly to combine and integrate our organizations to achieve improved financial performance." Commenting on the merger, Nick Economou, president and chief executive officer of Micrion said, "We are pleased to join forces with FEI. Our combined resources will allow us to continue delivering innovative solutions and enhanced value to our customers." Mr. Economou has been appointed to FEI's Board of Directors and will assume the position of chief operating officer at FEI. FEI will continue to support Micrion's product lines, headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon. FEI will maintain the Micrion operations located in Peabody, Massachusetts. About FEI Company FEI Company is a world leader in the design, manufacture, sale and support of charged particle beam systems and components including scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEMs and TEMs) and focused ion beam (FIB) and DualBeam(TM) (FIB/SEM) systems. FEI Products serve customers in the semiconductor, data storage, life science and material science markets. The unique combination of FEI technologies enables customers to employ new diagnostic, analytical, device modification and process management functions to improve performance and reduce project time and costs. FEI is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon and maintains product develop and manufacturing centers in the United States, The Netherlands and Czech Republic. More information about FEI Company is available on FEI's web site at http://www.feic.com. Except for the historical statements contained herein, the statements in this news release concerning growth, new product development and margin improvement involve risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to business conditions in the electronics, life sciences and material sciences industries and the general economy, both domestic and international; lower than expected customer orders; competitive factors, including pricing pressures, technological developments and products offered by competitors; technological difficulties and resource constraints encountered in developing new products, and the timely flow of competitive new products and market acceptance of those products. ots Original Text Service: FEI Company Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Vahe' A. Sarkissian President and Chief Executive Officer (USA) 503-726-2770, or William P. Mooney Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (USA) 503-640-7537, both of FEI Company Web site: http://www.feic.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT