BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.

M&A Activity • Jan 26, 2009

FOR: BE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRIES N.V. Ratio 6 6921 RW Duiven, The Netherlands

PRESS RELEASE

BE Semiconductor Agrees to Acquire Esec Business Unit of OC Oerlikon Corporation AG

Duiven, the Netherlands, January 26, 2009, BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. ("the Company" or "Besi") (Euronext: BESI), a leading manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry, today announced its agreement to acquire the shares of Oerlikon Assembly Equipment AG and certain assets and affiliates related thereto which comprise the Esec business unit ("Esec") from OC Oerlikon Corporation AG. Closing of the transaction is anticipated in April 2009 subject to certain customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

The purchase price of the transaction and other terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed based on a confidentiality agreement between the parties. In order to complete the transaction, Besi does not require additional debt financing and will incur share dilution of approximately 8%. In addition, the Company does not believe that its earnings per share for 2009 nor its financial condition will be adversely affected as a result of the transaction.

Founded in 1968, Esec is a leading global manufacturer of die bonding equipment for the semiconductor, telecommunications and smart card industries based in Cham, Switzerland. It also manufactures and services wire bonding systems from its Singapore assembly facility. Esec has an estimated installed base in excess of 9,000 systems at customer locations worldwide. Customers are principally global semiconductor manufacturers and Asian subcontractors.

Subsequent to the acquisition, Besi intends to retain the Esec brand name and offer its products as part of its global product portfolio of assembly equipment. In addition, the Company will develop and execute plans to realize synergies from the Esec acquisition by (i) utilizing Besi's Asian manufacturing operations and global supply chain network, (ii) integrating and coordinating research and development activities with Besi's Datacon die handling activities, (iii) leveraging the respective resources of the combined sales and customer support networks and (iv) sharing and coordinating global IT and general and administrative functions.

In commenting on the transaction, Richard W. Blickman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Besi highlighted some key elements of the strategic rationale for the Esec acquisition:

• "The proposed transaction is a complementary product acquisition that fits well with our goal of becoming the world's leading assembly equipment company.
• In combination with our Datacon product portfolio, the addition of Esec significantly expands our share of the die bonding system market, one of the most rapidly growing segments of the assembly equipment business.
• It also expands our market penetration of many key European, American and Asian global accounts including ST Microelectronics, STATS Chip PAC, Infineon, ASE, SPIL, UTAC and Fairchild.
• Finally, the combination with Esec and the scale resulting therefrom will enable us to further leverage our One Besi concept as a means of achieving incremental cost reductions within the global organization."

About BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.

BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. designs, develops, manufactures, markets and services die sorting, flip chip and multi-chip die bonding, packaging and plating equipment for the semiconductor industry's assembly operations. Its customers consist primarily of leading U.S., European and Asian semiconductor manufacturers, assembly subcontractors and industrial companies which utilize its products for both array connect and conventional leadframe manufacturing processes. For more information about Besi, please visit our website at www.besi.com.

Contacts:

Richard W. Blickman Jan Willem Ruinemans President & CEO Chief Financial Officer Tel. (31) 26 319 4500 Tel. (31) 26 319 4500 investor.relations@besi.com investor.relations@besi.com

European IR contact:

Uneke Dekkers / Frank Jansen Citigate First Financial Tel. (31) 20 575 4021 / 24

Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are found in various places throughout the press release, including statements relating to expectations of orders, net sales, product shipments, backlog, expenses, timing of purchases of assembly equipment by customers, gross margins, operating results and capital expenditures. The words "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "can", "intend", "believes", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "forecast", "will", "would", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements, although not all forward looking statements contain these identifying words. The financial guidance set forth under the heading "Outlook" constitutes forward looking statements. While these forward looking statements represent our judgments and future expectations concerning the development of our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to, those listed or discussed in Besi's Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2007, as well as the risk that anticipated orders may not materialize or that orders received may be postponed or canceled, generally without charges; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; acts of terrorism and violence; overall global economic conditions; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, associated with substantial foreign customers, suppliers and foreign manufacturing operations; potential instability in foreign capital markets; the risk of failure to successfully manage our expanding and more diverse operations; and other key factors that could adversely affect our businesses and financial performance contained in our filings and reports, including our statutory consolidated statements. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Nederlandse toelichting bij Engelstalig persbericht d.d. 26 januari 2009, waarbij de Engelse tekst leidend is. Zie Engelstalig persbericht voor "Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements".

BE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRIES N.V. Ratio 6 6921 RW Duiven

PERSBERICHT

BE Semiconductor is voornemens Esec te acquireren

Duiven, 26 januari 2009, BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. ("Besi") (Euronext: BESI), een toonaangevende leverancier van assemblagemachines voor de halfgeleiderindustrie, kondigt vandaag aan een overeenkomst met OC Oerlikon Corporation AG aangegaan te zijn om de aandelen van Oerlikon Assembly Equipment AG en bepaalde activa en dochterondernemingen welke als geheel de business unit ("Esec") vormen, te verwerven. Naar verwachting wordt de transactie in april 2009 afgerond, ondermeer afhankelijk van algemene voorwaarden en mededingingsbepalingen.

De koopprijs en de daaraan verbonden voorwaarden worden niet bekend gemaakt, vanwege vertrouwelijkheidsafspraken tussen beide partijen. Om de transactie af te ronden zal Besi ongeveer 8% aandelen uitgeven. Besi's schuldpositie verhoogt niet door deze transactie. Daarnaast verwacht Besi dat de acquisitie geen negatief effect heeft op de winst per aandeel voor 2009 noch op haar financiële conditie.

Esec, gevestigd te Cham, Zwitserland en opgericht in 1968, is een wereldwijd toon-aangevende leverancier van die bonding machines voor de halfgeleiderindustrie en smart card industrie. Esec levert ook wire bonding machines, vanuit de vestiging in Singapore. Wereldwijd zijn meer dan 9,000 machines bij klanten geïnstalleerd. Esec's klanten bestaan uit halfgeleiderfabrikanten over de gehele wereld en Aziatische subcontractors.

De Esec merknaam blijft gehandhaafd en de Esec producten zullen met de andere Besi producten wereldwijd in de halfgeleider assemblage markt worden aangeboden. Besi zal direct plannen ontwikkelen en uitvoeren om mogelijke synergieën te realiseren op het gebied van (i) gebruikmaken van Besi's Aziatische productievestigingen en wereldwijd netwerk van toeleveranciers, (ii) integreren en coördineren van R&D en productontwikkelingsinspanningen voornamelijk met de Datacon die handling organisatie, (iii) kosten besparen en effectiviteit te verhogen door de combinatie van de Esec en Besi verkoop- en klanten service organisaties en (iv) het samenvoegen en coördineren van wereldwijd IT en algemene en administratieve taken.

Richard W. Blickman, President en Chief Executive Officer van Besi licht de volgende belangrijke elementen van de strategische onderbouwing van de acquisitie van Esec toe:

• "De voorgenomen transactie levert ons een aanvullend productenportfolio, dat uitstekend past binnen onze ambitie om wereldwijd marktleider te worden voor halfgeleider assemblage machines.

• Door de combinatie met Besi's Datacon productenportfolio, zal deze acquisitie ons markaandeel significant verhogen in de markt voor die bonding machines, een van de sterkst groeiende marktsegmenten van de assemblage machines.
• Tevens zal de positie bij veel Europese, Amerikaanse and Aziatische klanten zoals, ST Microelectronics, STATS Chip PAC, Infineon, ASE, SPIL, UTAC and Fairchild aanzienlijk verbeteren.
• Ten slotte, de combinatie van Besi met Esec zal schaalvoordelen opleveren die ons in staat stellen het One Besi concept verder invulling te geven met als resultaat additionele kostenbesparingen."

Contact personen:

Richard W. Blickman Jan Willem Ruinemans President & CEO Chief Financial Officer Tel. (31) 26 319 4500 Tel. (31) 26 319 4500 investor.relations@besi.com investor.relations@besi.com

European IR contact:

Uneke Dekkers / Frank Jansen Citigate First Financial Tel. (31) 20 575 4021 / 24