Sigma Designs Selected to Purchase Trident's Digital Television Business

MILPITAS, CA-- Apr 2, 2012 -- Sigma Designs®, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of connected media platforms, today announced that it has been selected as the successful bidder to acquire certain assets of Trident Microsystems, Inc.'s Digital Television (DTV) Business, which includes certain products, licensed intellectual property, software, working capital assets and leased facilities, for $21 million in cash plus assumption of specified liabilities upon the closing of the transaction. The final cash purchase price remains subject to an adjustment for the closing current asset balance of the DTV Business to the extent the closing current assets differ from a target current assets.

The selection of Sigma Designs as the successful bidder follows the conclusion of the auction process for the DTV Business and is now subject to approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the "Bankruptcy Court") presiding over the bankruptcy proceedings of Trident Microsystems, Inc., and certain affiliated entities and other customary closing conditions. The Bankruptcy Court hearing to authorize the sale of the DTV Business to Sigma is expected to be held on April 4, 2012.

"Sigma Designs' acquisition of the DTV business assets of Trident Microsystems represents a significant step forward in our company's long term strategy of being the industry's leading provider of advanced SoC solutions for converged media platforms," said Thinh Tran, Sigma Designs' Chairman and CEO. "With this transaction, we will increase our revenue scale, expand our product offerings, and will have the ability to leverage our combined operational resources and OEM relationships across some of the largest high growth connected media delivery markets. We are focused on successfully growing the DTV Business and our existing business and believe the outcome of this transaction will provide long-term benefits to our customers, employees and shareholders."

Trident's DTV Business is a leading provider of global System-on-a-Chip (SoC) products for advanced connected digital televisions. Based on an extensive history of product innovation and foundational intellectual property, these assets are uniquely positioned to drive SmartTV growth by enabling their tier-1 OEM customers to develop next-generation devices that allow consumers to enjoy all forms of multimedia content, including both traditional broadcast television and video from emerging Internet content providers.

Sigma expects to make employment offers to approximately 300 employees of the Trident DTV Business, most of whom are engineers located in China.

The transaction is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2012, and generate positive non-GAAP EBITDA in the first full year of operations. The management team of Sigma Designs will be hosting a conference call to further discuss the transaction at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, which follows the currently scheduled Bankruptcy Court hearing. Participants can access the event through Sigma's website at www.sigmadesigns.com/IR, through the Thomson StreetEvents Network or at www.earnings.com, Thomson's individual investor portal. An audio replay of the call will be available shortly thereafter and will remain available on-line for one week through Sigma's website www.sigmadesigns.com/IR.

About Sigma Designs, Inc.

Sigma Designs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGM) is a world leader in connected media platforms. The company designs and builds the essential semiconductor technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's leading IPTV set-top boxes, connected media players, residential gateways, home control systems and more. For more information about Sigma Designs, please visit www.sigmadesigns.com.