TI is taking over National Semi.

[chemelec]

I Just Recieved this:

I am excited to let you know that TI has signed a definitive agreement to purchase National Semiconductor, uniting two industry leaders that have a common commitment to solving your analog needs. I want to reinforce TI's commitment to you, our customer, as we merge our two companies.

This acquisition will allow us to address your analog needs with a product portfolio of unmatched breadth and depth. National's 12,000 products plus TI's 30,000 means more performance, power and packaging options when selecting the right ICs for your application. And we'll provide a common set of best-in-class online tools to make the selection and design process easier.

Our combined sales and applications team of 2,500 will be larger than any in the industry so we can provide more customers with greater face-to-face support than ever before.

Our manufacturing operations will offer more capacity to support your growth. TI's fabs and National's available capacity can enable higher production levels.

While both companies will operate independently pending the close, our goal thereafter is to make the integration process as seamless as possible. No requalification of products will be necessary since National's manufacturing sites will continue to be utilized. Part numbers from both companies will remain the same. There will be no obsolescence of products.

I'm excited about what the integration of our two companies will mean for you: an unmatched portfolio to meet your analog needs, an extensive sales and applications network to ease the design process, and manufacturing capacity to support your growth.

You can learn more about the acquisition at www.ti.com/acquire, including answers to frequently asked questions and video messages from TI leaders regarding the acquisition.

Thank you for choosing TI. I look forward to a great future together.

Best regards,

Rich Templeton
Chairman, President and CEO
Texas Instruments

[Altra]

I wonder how many engineers and techs will lose their jobs?

But as long as they keep making NE5534's and TLC555's we will be ok

[Carl-NC]

Ugh. This is highly ungood.

[Seden]

TI is taking over National Semi.

I agree Carl. It is a far cry from when they merged with Burr brown and comlinear which was a good thing.

We only had trouble with TI's digital chips in the LAPD 911 system back in the 90's-they sucked!

Randy

[chemelec]

Ugh. This is highly ungood.

Personally I am Happy with this.
I Really Like TI and there Product Services.
I have Been to Many Lectures and Electronic Courses, offered by TI in Vancouver.
A 4 Hour Drive each way, But most were Free, including a Lunch.

But I do hope no one loses any jobs.

[Qiaozhi]

I agree with Carl. This is not good.

You only have to look at the wording of the press release:

I am excited to let you know ... [that we now have one less competitor to worry about.]

... two industry leaders that have a common commitment ... (Americans usually refer to this as "synergy") [a buzz word that really means we have absolutely nothing on common, and are bitter rivals who are now pretending to be friends.]

... I want to reinforce TI's commitment to you ... [so please please don't worry. We have enough uncertainty about the future within our own staff.]

... our goal thereafter is to make the integration process as seamless as possible. [This virtually never happens. In other words, I've got my fingers crossed in case things go horribly wrong.]

There will be no obsolescence of products. [At least not for the present, until we can figure out which ones can be dropped.]

I'm excited about what the integration of our two companies will mean for you ... [Need to continue sounding upbeat in case anyone detects a note of panic.]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Am I being cynical? ... YES
Have I seen this happen before? ... Several times.
Will everything be all right in the end? ... After lots of trauma - YES - at least for those that survive the bloodshed.

[Altra]

Q, good analysis!

[Carl-NC]

As a former engineer with both Analog Devices & Maxim, and now as a customer of all these companies, I don't believe this merger will benefit either the employees (especially of NSM) or the market.

TI & NSM have tremendous product overlap and their competition in these spaces results in better products and lower prices. A merger will eventually eliminate the duplication and benefits. And a lot of people are certain to lose their jobs. The only winners in this are the major stockholders.

Once upon a time, I thought Intel might buy out Analog Devices, which would have been a benefit to both companies, as they had almost zero technological overlap, and to the market, as it would result in more integrated analog+digital solutions. Didn't happen. I'm afraid a TI+NSM merger will now motivate the now-smaller players (ADI, Maxim, LTC, Intersil, etc) to consider their own mergers.

- Carl

[chemelec]

My Latest Email, from National Semi.

Texas Instruments to Acquire National Semiconductor
************************************************** ************************************************** *************************************
April 5, 2011

Dear Customer,

Yesterday National Semiconductor and Texas Instruments announced that we have entered into
a definitive agreement under which TI will acquire National. Attached is the press release we issued
http://www.national.com/news/item/0,1735,1522,00.html, which has more detailed information, but I
wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about the news directly and what it means for you as our
valued customer.

This deal is a vote of confidence for our world-class products and our highly skilled team, and reflects
the leadership position we have built in power management technology and other areas. It goes without
saying that TI is a first-rate global company, and most importantly, they share our commitment to providing
quality products and exceptional service to customers. We think you'll find that our product portfolios
are exceptionally complementary. Moreover, through this transaction, we will become part of a larger,
dynamic organization, which means that this business combination will allow us to deliver additional value
to you through a comprehensive portfolio of analog product offerings, expanded manufacturing capacity,
and continued excellence in supply chain and support.

While we are very excited about today's news, this announcement is just the first step in the process.
We must obtain regulatory approvals and National shareholder approval, and we expect that the
transaction will take six to nine months to close. Until that time, we will continue to operate as independent
companies, and for us, it is business as usual at National. We remain focused, as we always have, on
execution and results, and will continue to deliver the high-quality products and excellent support levels
that you have come to expect from us.

We'll stay in touch as future developments take place, and we look forward to continuing to serve you.

Please do not hesitate to contact your National account manager with any questions.

Best regards,

Don Macleod
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer


Additional Information and Where to Find It
National Semiconductor Corporation ("National") plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "SEC") and mail to its stockholders a proxy statement in connection with the proposed merger with
Texas Instruments Incorporated. The proxy statement will contain important information about the proposed
merger and related matters. SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT
CAREFULLY WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE. Security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy
statement and other documents filed with the SEC by National through the web site maintained by the SEC
at www.sec.gov. In addition, security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement from
National by contacting Investor Relations by telephone at (40 721-5007, or by mail at National Semiconductor
Corporation, Mail Stop G2-397, 2900 Semiconductor Drive, P.O. Box 58090, Santa Clara, California 95052-8090,
Attn: Investor Relations Department, or by going to National's Investor Relations page on its corporate web
site at www.national.com.

National and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies
from the stockholders of National in connection with the proposed Merger. Information regarding the interests
of these directors and executive officers in the transaction described herein will be included in the proxy
statement described above. Additional information regarding these directors and executive officers is also
included in National's proxy statement for its 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the
SEC on August 8, 2010. This document is available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov,
and from National by contacting Investor Relations by telephone at (40 721-5007, or by mail at National
Semiconductor Corporation, Mail Stop G2-397, 2900 Semiconductor Drive, P.O. Box 58090, Santa Clara,
California 95052-8090, Attn: Investor Relations Department, or by going to National's Investor Relations
page on its corporate web site at www.national.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This communication may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking
statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the ability of the parties to
consummate the proposed merger and the satisfaction of closing conditions precedent to the consummation
of the proposed merger, and other risks identified in National's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q,
as filed with the SEC on March 30, 2011, which contains and identifies important factors that could cause the
actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. National assumes
no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this communication.

[Seden]

ELectronic Design Editorial on this merger

Here:

http://electronicdesign.com/article/[email protected]

This sucks.

Randy

[mikebg]

AMEN!

[Tepco]

Yeah, soon we will must use Magnum 357 to get LF 357 or something...