Centennial Technologies Buys Intel Flash Card Business; Capital Expenditures in Plant Readied Operation for Acquisition.

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 1999

Centennial Technologies, Inc. (OTC:CENL) today announced that it has acquired the flash memory card business of Intel Corporation, a business with ongoing annual revenues of approximately $20 million. The acquisition allows Centennial the opportunity to increase significantly its current annual revenue stream and build on its customer base in the networking and telecommunications industries.

Centennial's acquisition includes the PCMCIA card families (Series 2, Value series 100 and 200) and the miniature card families (Series 100 and 200). In exchange, Intel received cash and a note totaling $6 million, a payment of up to $4.5 million due upon the occurrence of certain contingencies, and approximately 16 percent of the outstanding shares of Centennial, on an as-converted basis.

Already a global leader in the manufacture and sale of custom and industry standard PC cards to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), this acquisition positions Centennial as one of the world's leading suppliers of linear flash memory cards to the OEM market. Centennial posted revenues of $14.3 million for the six months ended September 25, 1999, all from its PC card business.

"During the past year, we invested heavily in new equipment to expand our manufacturing capabilities, to increase efficiencies and production capacity, and to ready ourselves for growth. The planning and investments we made then are paying off now," said Centennial President and Chief Executive Officer L. Michael Hone. "We also believe that our consistent commitment to product quality and customer service are well known throughout the industry and helped put us in the position to assume this business."

"Intel is a recognized leader in the booming flash market segment," said Curt Nichols, general manager of Intel's Flash Products Division, based in Folsom, Calif. "Intel's leadership position is a result of customer demand driven by a forward-looking silicon strategy that includes an investment of over $1 billion in new products, packages and technologies.

"From an internal and market perspective, the timing was right for Intel to find a buyer for our flash card line. Centennial Technologies, as a world leader in providing PC cards and memory modules to OEMs, is ideally suited to maximize and expand on this piece of Intel's successful flash business."

Investment in Philips Equipment a Key Factor in Acquisition Readiness

Centennial's investment in new Philips equipment this year included six surface mount assembly machines that can handle a myriad of applications including chip shooting capabilities for medium volume and ultra-fine pitch demand. The combined output specifications include the placement of 100,000 components per hour, high reliability and exceptional accuracy.

"Our newest investment improves efficiency and maximizes productivity by allowing us to respond to customer orders with additional lines of high-precision surface mount equipment," said Jacques Assour, Centennial's senior vice president, operations. "This equipment helps to prepare us for the dramatic growth we expect to see as we integrate Intel's customers. It also allows us to bring on that business without compromising quality and customer satisfaction standards that our long-standing customers have come to expect from us."

Centennial also intends to add staff to get the full benefit of this new capability and to support the Intel purchase.

This is the first acquisition by Centennial under Hone and his management team, who were brought on in 1997 to steward Centennial's financial turnaround. Centennial (OTC:CENL), which reported its sixth straight profitable quarter this fall, is traded on the Over the Counter Electronic Bulletin Board.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The matters expressed in such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, Centennial's dependence on a limited number of customers for significant revenues and ability to retain such customers, Centennial's ability to compete with other manufacturers of PC Cards, Centennial's ability to keep pace with rapid technological changes, Centennial's ability to obtain sufficient quantities of computer memory chips and other electronic components used in its PC Cards at competitive prices, and other risks identified in filings made by Centennial Technologies, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") including Centennial's Form 10-Q's filed with the Commission under the heading "Risk Factors."

Centennial Technologies, Inc. provides custom and industry standard PC Cards for original equipment manufacturers. Centennial is a global leader in the integration of patented and proprietary technology into application-specific cards for commercial, industrial and military markets. Centennial's headquarters and ISO 9001 certified engineering and manufacturing facility are located in Wilmington, Massachusetts, just north of Boston, with sales and services offices in California, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana and Pennsylvania. Centennial's international sales and service operations are headquartered in the United Kingdom. More information about Centennial is available at http://www.cent-tech.com.

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking, and communications products. Additional information is available at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/.