CORNING, N.Y., Feb. 1 -- Corning Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the stock of Tropel Corp. in a transaction valued at about $190 million, based on the closing price of Corning common stock on January 22. Located in Fairport, N.Y., Tropel makes precision optics and metrology instruments for the semiconductor industry. Under the terms of the acquisition, Corning will pay nearly $60 million in cash and 1.95 million shares of Corning common stock. The acquisition will be completed by the end of the first quarter pending customary regulatory approval. The investment is expected to be neutral to Corning's 2001 pro forma earnings and accretive in 2002. Tropel will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Corning Inc. operating as a unit of the company's semiconductor materials business within its Specialty Materials division. John Bruning will continue as president and CEO of the business, to be known as Corning Tropel. Corning is very pleased to be able to combine our leading material expertise with Tropel's knowledge of precision optical subsystems for the microlithography industry, said Jim Steiner, vice president and general manager of Corning's Specialty Materials division. We are especially pleased to have John Bruning, a well recognized industry leader, join our management team. Study Says Midsized Businesses Looking for Broadband Connectivity in Key Locations, DSL a Likely Suspect for Service