Microchip Technology has completed its acquisition of a semiconductor manufacturing complex in Gresham from Fujitsu Microelectronics for $183.5mn in cash. Microchip expects that initial hiring will reach approximately 60 people during pre-production phases. Over time, Microchip believes it could employ 360 people as the Gresham facility reaches high volume manufacturing capacity over the next five to six years.

Microchip currently expects to
start volume production by July 2003. The US IC producer currently intends
to maintain its Fab 3 facility in Washington state until it is required for
future production. Microchip plans to relocate process equipment from Fab 3
to its Fab 1 and Fab 2 facilities, both based in Arizona. Some Fab 3
equipment is earmarked for Gresham to create a closer equipment match to Fab
2.
As a result of the merger some 240,000m2 of "natural resource lands" have
been donated to the city of Gresham. The donation includes two lakes, a
wooded, meandering reach of Fairview Creek and open meadow land.
The city parks and recreation manager, Don Robertson, reports: "This parcel
will be used for flood control, natural resource (wetland) protection and
enhancement. This donation will also allow us to plan for completion of a
key link in the Gresham trail system and future expansion of open space and
recreation opportunities."

Lattice Semiconductor has completed its acquisition of Cerdelinx
Technologies, an early stage fabless designer of application specific
standard products for high-speed communications and storage. As part of the
acquisition, a team of 25 technical employees, currently developing a
portfolio of low-power CMOS transceivers and backplane interfaces with
embedded high-speed SERDES I/O to support 10Gbit-per-second applications,
have joined Lattice. Among the applications are OC-192 optical
communications along with other networking and storage segments.

National Semiconductor has bought all of the capital stock of DigitalQuake,
a US developer of digital display products. The acquired company has a range
of technologies such as a digital video display scaler chip, a triple
analogue-to-digital converter and a digital video interface. DigitalQuake's
designers will be integrated into National Semiconductor's Displays group.

Tegal has completed its purchase of Sputtered Films. Tegal has issued 1.5mn
shares and a performance-based future cash earn out to meet the agreement.
The acquisition includes Sputtered Films' patented Endeavor product lines.
Sputtered's makes sputtering equipment for semiconductor, photomask,
advanced packaging (including flip chip) and compound semiconductor
industries.
Carole Anne Clarke Demachkie, a senior executive at Sputtered and daughter
of the company's late founder, Peter Clarke, will be named a Tegal vice
president and general manager of the subsidiary. A further 18 Sputtered
employees will continue to be based at the company's former California
headquarters. The acquisition brings Tegal's worldwide employee count to
140, its level before the acquisition. Tegal has also recently reduced its
operating expenses by an amount roughly equal to that of the Sputtered Films
operation.

UK company Qinetiq, the former DERA defence research organisation, is set to
be taken control of by the Carlyle group, a US based investment firm. The
group has been named as "preferred bidder" by the Uk Ministry of Defence.
Exclusive negotiations are now expected to result in a deal by the end of
the year. Carlyle would probably receive a large minority stake in the
company. The UK government would have the remaining interest in the firm.
Carlyle would be expected to sell its holding within four years through
floation on the stock market. Among Qinetiq's activities is microsystems
development.