1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

                          [KULICKE & SOFFA LETTERHEAD]


NEWS for Immediate Release


           KULICKE & SOFFA SELLS 5-1/4% CONVERTIBLE SUBORDINATED NOTES

WILLOW GROVE, Pennsylvania - August 9, 2001 - Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc.
(Nasdaq: KLIC) announced today the private placement of $125 million of 5-1/4%
Convertible Subordinated Notes due 2006 through a Rule 144A offering to
qualified institutional buyers. These Notes are convertible into Kulicke & Soffa
common stock at a conversion ratio of 50.6401 shares per $1,000 principal amount
of notes, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances. The Notes will be
issued at 100% of the principal amount. The Notes are redeemable by the company
any time after August 18, 2004 at specified prices, and are redeemable prior to
August 19, 2004 if certain conditions are satisfied. Kulicke & Soffa has agreed
to file a registration statement for the resale of the Notes and the shares of
common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes within 90 days after the
closing of the offering. The offering is expected to close on August 15, 2001.
Kulicke & Soffa expects to use a portion of the net proceeds to repay $47
million outstanding on its credit facility and the remaining portion of the
offering for working capital and general corporate purposes. Kulicke & Soffa has
granted the initial purchaser of the Notes an option to purchase up to an
additional $25 million principal amount of Notes to cover over-allotments, if
any.

The Notes and the common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes have not
been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or applicable
state securities laws, and unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in
the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
applicable state securities laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to buy the Notes. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in
accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Kulicke & Soffa designs, manufactures and markets capital equipment, packaging
materials and test interconnect solutions and provides flip chip bumping
services for sale to companies that manufacture and assemble semiconductor
devices. Kulicke & Soffa also services, maintains, repairs and upgrades assembly
equipment, licenses its flip chip bumping process technology and is developing
high density interconnect substrates.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: Certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking
statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, risks related to the highly cyclical
semiconductor industry, the risk of fluctuations in sales and operating results,
risk related to the timely development of new products, options and software
applications, as well as the other factors described under "Risk Factors" in
Kulicke & Soffa's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 and Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000 filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.

                                       ###

CONTACT:      Nancy R. Kyle,  Director, Investor Relations
              215-784-6436 (phone);  215-784-6167 (fax)  - nkyle@kns.com