TI to Acquire Nat Semi

DALLAS and SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE:TXN - News) and National Semiconductor (NYSE:NSM - News) today announced they have signed a definitive agreement under which TI will acquire National for $25 per share in an all-cash transaction of about $6.5 billion. The acquisition combines two industry leaders in analog semiconductors, each with unique strengths in delivering products to improve performance and efficiency and convert real-world signals in electronic systems. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.

"This acquisition is about strength and growth," said Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "National has an excellent development team, and its products combined with our own can offer customers an analog portfolio of unmatched depth and breadth. In recent years, National's management team has done an outstanding job of improving margins and streamlining expenses, which upon close will increase TI's profitability and earnings per share, excluding transaction costs. Our ability to accelerate National's growth with our much larger sales force is the foundation of our belief that we can produce strong returns on our investment. The combined sales team will be 10 times larger than National's is today, and the portfolio will be exposed to more customers in more markets."

"Our two companies complement each other very well," said Don Macleod, National's chief executive officer. "TI has much greater scale in the marketplace, with its larger portfolio of products and its large global sales force. This provides a platform to enhance National's strong and highly profitable analog capability, power management in particular, leading to meaningful growth."

Under terms of the agreement, National stockholders will receive $25 in cash for each share of National common stock they hold at the time of closing. TI expects to fund the transaction with a combination of existing cash balances and debt. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including review by U.S. and international regulators and approval by National's shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in six to nine months.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN)

National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM)