Press Release

Sipex, Exar Shareholders Approve Merger of Companies; Deal to Close Saturday

Fremont, CA (August 23, 2007) -- Semiconductor makers Sipex Corp. and Exar Corp. said Thursday their shareholders approved a proposed merger of the two companies.

Exar first announced in May it would buy Sipex, a Milpitas, Calif.-based maker of integrated circuits used in power management products.

Under the terms of the deal, Sipex shareholders will receive 0.6679 share of Exar for each share of Sipex. After the deal is complete, Exar shareholders will own 67.6 percent of the newly combined company, and Sipex shareholders will own 32.4 percent.

Sipex said preliminary results of the shareholder vote at a special shareholders meeting indicate that more than 70 percent of the shares outstanding were cast in favor of the deal. Those votes represent more than 99 percent of the votes cast at the meeting, the company added.

Exar said more than 76.9 percent of its shares outstanding favored the deal at its special shareholders meeting, which represented about 99 percent of the votes cast.

The deal is expected to close Saturday.

Sipex shares rose 18 cents to close at $8.91. Exar shares rose 26 cents to close at $13.35.

SOURCE: Associated Press