February 8, 2005 - Siliconix Inc., an 80.4% owned subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology Inc., announced that it has acquired Vishay's former wholly-owned subsidiary, Vishay Semiconductor Itzehoe GmbH (VSIG), for EUR7.5 million (~US$10.2 million), which includes all assets and liabilities. Siliconix also plans to establish 8-in. wafer production capability at the Itzehoe, Germany, facility.

The price was based on an independent appraisal performed on behalf of the Siliconix's Board of Directors, who approved the transaction. VSIG operates a Class 1 wafer fabrication facility in Itzehoe under an agreement with Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. Vishay acquired its 80.4% interest in Siliconix and its 100% interest in VSIG concurrently, as part of the 1998 acquisition of the TEMIC Semiconductor Division of Daimler-Benz. Siliconix had a subcontracting agreement with VSIG.

Dr. King Owyang, president and CEO of Siliconix, said, "This is an excellent transaction for Siliconix, providing us with the ability to control the Itzehoe fab. We are excited that we will be able to oversee the capital expansion at Itzehoe, which we expect will alleviate our capacity constraints for high-cell-density wafers and will provide us with our first 8-in. wafer production facility."

Siliconix manufactures power MOSFETs, power ICs, analog switches, and multiplexers for computers, cell phones, fixed communications networks, automobiles, and other consumer and industrial electronic systems.

Vishay Intertechnology manufactures discrete semiconductors (diodes, rectifiers, transistors, and optoelectronics), selected ICs, and passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transducers).