Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ: CAMT and TASE: CAMT), today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with an affiliate of Principle Capital, a Shanghai-based private-equity fund, to sell its PCB business for $35 million, of which $32 million will be paid in cash upon closing and an additional amount of up to $3 million conditioned upon the PCB business' financial performance in 2018. The worldwide PCB organization is expected to remain intact, including the R&D operations which are planned to continue operating from Israel with its Israeli personnel.  

The definitive agreement contains customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnity obligations.  Subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and third-party approvals, the closing is expected during the third quarter of 2017. Following the closing Camtek will cease to report the results of its PCB business. The PCB business will be included as discontinued operations in Camtek's financial statements for the second quarter 2017 results and until the date of closing. Results for the second quarter of 2017 are expected to be released on August 3, 2017.

Rafi Amit, Camtek's CEO, commented, "This agreement is in line with our long-term strategy. Camtek will become a pure-play semiconductor inspection and metrology focused company, where we see many growth opportunities ahead. Our stronger balance sheet will also make it easier for us to explore synergetic acquisitions in our sector. Camtek as a semiconductor company will potentially present higher growth rates with improved gross margins."

Mr. Amit continued, "This agreement will enable Principle Capital to build a leading Asia based PCB inspection and metrology company, capitalizing on our well-positioned PCB unit. We believe Principle Capital will be able to take this business to the next level and accelerate its growth rates."

Lin-Lin Zhou, CEO of Principle Capital, commented, "What we look for in every investment is a talented management team in a well-positioned business, where we can help accelerate growth. That is exactly what we have found at Camtek's PCB business, a market leader with strong technology and great customer reputation. We are very excited about the business' prospects and believe the deal is a win-win for all parties."

ABOUT CAMTEK LTD. 

Camtek Ltd. provides automated and technologically advanced solutions dedicated to enhancing production processes, increasing products yield and reliability, enabling and supporting customer's latest technologies in the Semiconductors, Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) and IC Substrates industries.

Camtek addresses the specific needs of these interconnected industries with dedicated solutions based on a wide and advanced platform of technologies including intelligent imaging, image processing and functional inkjet printing.

ABOUT PRINCIPLE CAPITAL 

Principle Capital is a private equity investment firm based in Shanghai with a strong focus in the advanced manufacturing industry. It was founded in 2002 by consulting professionals with the mission of helping enterprises build great businesses. Principle Capital has formed a strategic partnership with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a New York based private investment firm with a strategy predicated on working with management teams to grow the business in which it invests, often nor-core divisions of larger companies. CD&R's team is a blend of skilled investors and seasoned industry leaders. Jack Welch (former CEO of GE), Terry Leahy (former CEO of Tesco) and Jim McNerney (former CEO of Boeing) are Senior Advisors to CD&R Funds.

This press release is available at http://www.camtek.com

This press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future performance of the Company. These statements are only predictions and may change as time passes. We do not assume any obligation to update that information. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected, including as a result of changing industry and market trends, reduced demand for our products, the timely development of our new products and their adoption by the market, increased competition in the industry, intellectual property litigation, price reductions as well as due to risks identified in the documents filed by the Company with the SEC.

CAMTEK LTD.
Moshe Eisenberg, CFO
Tel: +972-4-604-8308
Mobile: +972-54-900-7100
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INTERNATIONAL INVESTOR RELATIONS  
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SOURCE Camtek Ltd