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MST ANALYTICS, INC.

MST Analytics, Inc. was a holding company formed by Messrs. Denenberg and Bank to acquire and hold directly, or through wholly-owned subsidiaries, four operating companies, all of which developed, manufactured and sold products that were used primarily in the process of semiconductor fabrication and in the chemical industry.  Mr. Denenberg served as Chairman and Mr. Bank as President of the holding company.

The MST Entities.  MST U.S. and MST GmbH (Germany) engaged in similar businesses with different geographical concentrations.  The MST Entities were involved in developing, manufacturing, and selling both fixed and portable hazardous gas detection systems, primarily for the semiconductor, chemical and petrochemical industries.  These products utilized electrochemical sensors, in combination with sophisticated microelectronics, to detect a wide variety of toxic and hazardous gases and provide optimum protection to their customers.  MST U.S. targeted sales to North America and South America and MST GmbH targeted sales to Europe and the Far East.

Sensoric GmgH.  Sensoric was active in the business of developing, producing and marketing unique and reliable field-tested electrochemical sensors for use in detecting a wide variety of toxic and hazardous gases.  Their sensors were a major component of the gas detection systems that the MST Entities manufactured and sold.

FPM Analytics, Inc.  FPM was an early-stage company which had developed and marketed a series of on-line liquid process analyzers for a wide array of industrial applications.  The FPM systems provided real-time, on-line sample composition information which was useful in maintaining control of the process being monitored.  FPM had established a reputation for successfully installing analyzers in very difficult applications, where others had either been unsuccessful or not even attempted to market such products.  Several key products were developed for the semiconductor industry.

Investment Details

Recognizing the potential for synergistic growth and operational streamlining that could be achieved by combining the four operating companies, KB Partners created the acquiring entity, MST Analytics, Inc., in January 1997.  It was KB Partners’ belief that operational efficiencies coupled with cross-selling opportunities would result in rapid growth in both revenue and market share when these four companies were combined.  By sharing technology, personnel, and overhead across the companies, rapid operational improvements and bottom line increases could be expected in short order.

Through a complex series of transactions including equity, stock swaps, and both domestic and international debt, MST Analytics, Inc. acquired the four operating companies in July 1997.

Significant operational efficiencies were realized across the four companies, numerous key hires were made, including a President and CFO for MST U.S., and streamlining took place in several areas.  Increased sales efforts resulted in multiple major installations including the White Oak semiconductor facility, a joint venture of Motorola and Siemens, representing the largest implementation of MST’s innovative satellite detection system.  Additionally, FPM created various cutting edge products which were very favorably received by several of the largest players in the industry.

The company was very successfully sold to ATMI, Inc. a publicly traded semiconductor firm (NASDAQ: ATMI) in November 1999.

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