BOSTON -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Oct. 29, 2001 -- Teradyne, Inc., (NYSE: TER) has completed its acquisition of GenRad, Inc. of Westford, MA, following approval by GenRad shareholders and US regulatory bodies.

GenRad operations are being integrated with Teradyne's existing Assembly Test Division, and will operate under the Teradyne name. The division, which markets a broad range of circuit board inspection and test equipment and manufacturing information and management software, will be managed by ATD president Robert M. Dutkowsky, former chairman, president and CEO of GenRad. Products will be marketed under both the Teradyne and GenRad brand names.

George W. Chamillard, Teradyne chairman, president and CEO stated, "The combination of Teradyne and GenRad broadens our business scope in the global circuit board inspection and test market, with significantly expanded customer reach and product line breadth. Besides further consolidating our standing as the world's number one Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) company, we now have a much stronger position in an industry that historically has been somewhat less volatile than our semiconductor test business."

"The high rate of change in today's electronics manufacturing market presents us an excellent opportunity to increase market share," Chamillard added. "With GenRad now a part of Teradyne, we have the largest installed base and broadest line of circuit board inspection and test systems. Customers always benefit when there are strong suppliers, and our new Assembly Test Division now offers them better competitive choices."

"Merger of the extensive resources of Teradyne and GenRad creates a new leader in the test and measurement arena," stated Dutkowsky. "With a clear strategic commitment to both electrical test and imaging inspection enhanced by our strong software solutions, we believe our new organization offers electronics manufacturers worldwide a competitively superior option for products, applications and support."

"Between the two organizations we have more than 125 years of test and measurement experience delivering advanced technology solutions incorporating the performance, flexibility and reliability required on the production floor. Both companies have a series of remarkable 'firsts' in the ATE business, ranging from the first digital functional tester from GenRad and the first combinational tester from Teradyne, to recent innovations, such as new optical inspection technology and the Strategist distributed test strategy optimization software."

"We realize that our customers are living in a tough environment where increasingly complex product technology is at odds with the constant requirement to reduce cost and cycle time. Our demonstrated record of product and support leadership, unparalleled commitment in partnering with our customers, and strategic roadmap address this reality with products and services going forward that will reflect our combined heritage and vision," Dutkowsky concluded. Final regulatory approvals of the transaction in several countries are expected shortly.

About Teradyne

Teradyne (NYSE: TER) is the world's largest supplier of automatic test equipment and is also a leading supplier of high performance interconnection systems. Manufacturers of semiconductors, circuit assemblies, and voice and broadband telephone networks use Teradyne's test products. Manufacturers of communications and computing systems central to building networking infrastructure use Teradyne's backplane assemblies and high-density connectors. The company had sales of $3.0 billion in 2000 and currently employs about 8000 people worldwide. For more information visit www.teradyne.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release address future financial and operating results and benefits of the transaction. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: uncertainties associated with economic conditions in the electronics and test industries, particularly in the principal industry sectors served by the combined company, changes in customer requirements and in the volume of sales to principal customers, the ability of the combined company to achieve the anticipated benefits and synergies associated with this transaction, the challenges and risks associated with managing and operating business in numerous international locales, competition and technological change, the risks that the businesses will not be integrated successfully. For a detailed discussion of these and other factors, please refer to Teradyne's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially the factors set forth in Teradyne's fiscal 2000 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Teradyne's most recent quarterly 10-Q Report.