SEZ Holding Welcomes Planned Acquisition by Lam Research
Public tender offer expected to be launched beginning of January 2008

The SEZ Group (SWX Swiss Exchange: SEZN) announced today that its Board of Directors has signed a binding transaction agreement with Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX), headquartered in Fremont, California, United States. In line with the transaction agreement, Lam Research intends to launch a public tender offer for all outstanding shares of SEZ at Swiss Francs (CHF) 38.00 per SEZ registered share. After a thorough review of the proposed transaction, SEZ’s Board of Directors has unanimously concluded that the planned acquisition by Lam Research is in the best interest of all SEZ stakeholders and will positively benefit the sustainable development of SEZ’s leading market position. The Board of Directors therefore fully supports the proposed tender offer. The offer shows an attractive premium of 53.8% to the volume weighted average share price over the past 60 trading days. Full details of the tender offer will be disclosed in the offer document, expected to be published early January 2008. The offer is expected to close in March 2008.

“The offer to be a part of Lam Research Corporation is an exceptional opportunity that will help us realize the full potential of SEZ’s technology,” said Egon Putzi, SEZ chairman and chief executive officer. “Lam’s focus on developing leading-edge technology, providing best-in-class customer value and leveraging the full range of their global resources has made them one of the world’s largest and most successful equipment providers.” Kurt Lackenbucher, SEZ chief operating officer, added: “We believe that combining SEZ’s leading single-wafer technology with Lam’s innovative linear-clean and plasma technologies will provide manufacturers with a significant competitive advantage. The management of SEZ is convinced this combination will create immense value by delivering new capabilities to our customers that will unlock significant growth opportunities for all involved.”

Today, both companies serve a common customer base, providing leading and complementary technologies and solutions. The combination is aimed at creating a true technology and market leader in the single-wafer cleaning markets, providing semiconductor manufacturers with the best-of-breed, comprehensive technology portfolio required to meet their future manufacturing needs. Delivering a broader equipment portfolio will also accelerate future growth and innovation. Under the terms of agreement, following the transaction’s closure, SEZ will become a new division within Lam with capabilities focused around single-wafer cleaning technology. The entire SEZ executive team has committed to remain with the company.

Media and Analyst Conference
Today 11 December 2007 at 2:00 p.m. (CET), the SEZ Group and Lam Research will host a media and analyst conference to discuss the planned acquisition at Hotel Savoy Baur en Ville; Paradeplatz, Zurich. In case you are not able to attend personally, you can dial in via:
+41 (0) 91 610 56 00 (International)

About Lam Research
Lam Research Corporation, one of Fortune magazine's "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" in 2006 and 2007 is a major supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the world’s semiconductor industry and market share leader in plasma etch. Lam Research's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Global Select MarketSM under the symbol LRCX. Lam Research is a NASDAQ-100® company. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.lamresearch.com.

About SEZ Group
The SEZ Group is the leading provider of single-wafer wet-clean processing solutions for the semiconductor industry, with an installed base of over 1,200 tools. The company maintains operations in Asia Pacific, Europe, Japan and North America. Since 1996, registered shares of SEZ Holding Ltd. have been traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SEZN. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.sez.com.