Balve, Germany/Breda, Holland, September 1, 2007 – The Cobar Group BV officially became part of Balver Zinn today, with the final full transfer of ownership of Cobar to the non-ferrous metals producer headquartered in Balve, Germany. The intended merger was first announced in March 2007 with the signature of a Letter of Intent ("LOI") relating to Cobar joining the Balver Zinn Group. The conclusion of the agreement realizes a transfer of full ownership of Cobar to Balver Zinn. As a member of the Balver Group, Cobar will lead the future development solder paste, solder fluxes and related products. Balver Zinn will continue to focus on the metallurgy of the solder materials.

 

Mr. Josef Jost, Managing Director of Balver Zinn, commented: "Our merger with Cobar strengthens our product range by adding world-class solder paste, solder fluxes and other products. This new partnership provides strong opportunities for future growth of the entire Balver Zinn group. We will enjoy the teamwork with our new family members!” Eli Westerlaken, Managing Director of Cobar, said, "I see this relationship bringing benefits to both companies’ customers and a platform for development of more advanced assembly materials and I will enjoy working with the Balver team!”

Balver Zinn, headquartered approximately 30 km south of Dortmund, Germany is a major non-ferrous metal producer. Balver Zinn has a company history spanning more than 30 years. They are a, financially strong, family owned and operated company with a vibrant tradition and a passion for quality. Balver Zinn is well positioned among the leading providers of high-quality anodes with various alloys as well as soft solders and special wires. Balver Zinn’s products are widely recognized in the printed board industry as well as in electronics and electrical engineering applications. In recent years Balver Zinn has experienced a strong growth of its business with the introduction of Pb-free solders. Balver Zinn has licenses for SN100C™ (Nihon Superior, Japan) and for SAC-alloys (IOWA, USA & Senju, Japan).

 

Cobar, founded in 1983 in Holland, has been a recognized global supplier of solder paste, solder fluxes and related materials for electronics assembly. Cobar Europe BV is known in Europe as the leader in lead-free and VOC-free soldering materials. Cobar is accredited to the prestigious ISO/TS 16949 Quality Management Standard. The Cobar Group includes Cobar Europe BV in Breda, Holland, Cobar Solder Products Inc. in Londonderry, NH, USA, plus several joint ventures and licensed manufacturing partnerships around the world.

Through this new partnership, Balver Zinn and Cobar will have a network that spans the major electronic markets in the world. Moreover, Cobar will benefit from and contribute to Balver Zinn’s membership in the “Global Partners Network”, an alliance of manufacturers of solder materials in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

 

With a consolidated annual turnover exceeding Euro 70 million, the new partnership positions Balver Zinn as one of the largest suppliers of solder materials in Europe. Each member of the group will continue to use its own manufacturing infrastructure, marketing network and brand name. The distributor networks of each member of the group will not experience a conflict of interest. On, the contrary, synergy of both the Balver Zinn and Cobar technologies and expertise will be the key to further growth.

 

The acquisition price has not been disclosed.

For more information visit Balver Zinn on the Internet: www.balverzinn.com