RADFELD, Austria, Nov. 17 - A pair of leading semiconductor gear makers, BE Semiconductor Industries and Datacon Technology, will merge in January, the firms jointly announced today.

Besi will assume 100% of Datacon's shares. Datacon shareholders will receive 90% cash and shares in Besi. The purchase price was 3 million euros and includes net financial liabilities.

Negotiations are in the final stages, the companies said, and the merger is scheduled to close in January, pending antitrust and other reviews. Besi is listed on Nasdaq and Euronext. After the close, Datacon will become an wholly owned subsidiary of Besi.

Datacon makes microchip assembly platforms (die bonders), while Besia manufactures semiconductor assembly equipment.

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Huntington Beach, CA, Nov. 17 -- SolderMask Inc. will become the first North American licensee of DEK's VectorGuard stencils.

Under the agreement, SolderMask will manufacture VectorGuard stencils from foil blanks supplied by DEK and will also provide complementary frames.

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CHANDLER, Ariz., Nov. 8 — Microchip Technology, a provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, will in January convert its product packaging to lead-free plating, to comply with pending government regulations.

The company has selected matte tin as its plating material. The finish makes the company's products compatible with tin-lead soldering processes and higher-temperature lead-free processes.

The company has been shipping parts with matte tin plating in volume for over a year, Microchip said.

A number of semiconductor suppliers have announced plans to convert their line cards by the end of the first quarter 2005. See the story in the December issue of Circuits Assembly, coming soon.

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