NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR, VIA TECHNOLOGIES SIGN AGREEMENT FOR SALE OF CYRIX PC PROCESSOR BUSINESS

August 3, 1999 - National Semiconductor Corporation® (NYSE:NSM) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement for VIA Technologies, Inc. to purchase the assets of the Cyrix standalone PC processor business. Part of the sale price of $167 million is payable at close with the remainder contingent on future revenues of the Cyrix product line.

The sale includes the M II™ x86-compatible processor and successor products. National Semiconductor will retain the integrated MediaGX™ processor which forms the core of National's new Geode™ family of solutions for the Information Appliance market. National said it expects the transaction to close in about one month, subject to the usual government approvals. In that period National will work with VIA to develop a transition plan for customers, products and employees. Most of the assets involved are located in Richardson, Texas with other assets in Arlington, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; and Santa Clara, California; as well as some manufacturing assets in Singapore. The two companies had signed a letter of intent for this action on June 30, 1999.

Founded in 1987, VIA Technologies, Inc. is the PC industry's second largest core logic chipset supplier. VIA independently designs, engineers and manufactures cost-effective, highly integrated, high functionality system logic chipsets and associated peripherals for manufacturers of desktop and portable PC systems.

National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications, and consumer markets. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National has annual sales of $2.0 billion and approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.