MICROSEMI Corporation to acquire VITESSE SEMICONDUCTOR Corporation

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. and CAMARILLO, Calif., March 18, 2015 – Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, and Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: VTSS), jointly announced today that Microsemi has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vitesse for $5.28 per share through a cash tender offer, representing a premium of 32 percent based on the average closing price of Vitesse's shares of common stock during the 30 trading days ended March 17, 2015. The board of directors of Vitesse unanimously recommends that Vitesse's stockholders tender their shares in the tender offer. The total transaction value is approximately $389 million.

Headquartered in Camarillo, California, Vitesse designs a diverse portfolio of high-performance semiconductors, application software, and integrated turnkey systems solutions for carrier, enterprise and Internet of Things (IoT) networks worldwide. Vitesse's products enable the fastest-growing network infrastructure markets including mobile access/IP edge, enterprise cloud access, and industrial-IoT networking.

"This acquisition is further evidence of Microsemi's continuing commitment to grow as a communications semiconductor company," stated James J. Peterson, Microsemi chairman and CEO. "Vitesse's highly complementary technology suite will expand our product offering and accelerate growth with differentiated technology in emerging markets, while benefitting from the increased scale, consolidated infrastructure and cost savings of the combined entity."

"The proposed acquisition of Vitesse by Microsemi will create a powerful combination," said Chris Gardner, Vitesse's chief executive officer. "I believe Microsemi will be able to leverage Vitesse's Ethernet technology and capabilities further into the communications market and has the scale to implement the adoption of our industrial IoT strategy."

Microsemi expects significant synergies from this transaction and expects to see immediate accretion in the first full quarter of completion. Based on current assumptions, Microsemi expects the acquisition to be $0.16 to $0.20 per share accretive in its first full fiscal year ending September 30, 2016.

About Microsemi

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for communications, defense & security, aerospace and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world's standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and has approximately 3,400 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.

About Vitesse

Vitesse (Nasdaq: VTSS) designs a diverse portfolio of high-performance semiconductors, application software, and integrated turnkey systems solutions for Carrier, Enterprise and Internet of Things (IoT) networks worldwide. Vitesse products enable the fastest-growing network infrastructure markets including Mobile Access/IP Edge, Cloud Access and Industrial-IoT Networking. Visit www.vitesse.com

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