Sipex Corporation Announces Date of Special Stockholders' Meeting in Connection with Proposed Exar Corporation Merger Transaction


MILPITAS, Calif., July 16 / -- Sipex Corporation (NASDAQ:SIPX) today the date of August 23, 2007 for a special meeting of its stockholders to consider the adoption of the proposed merger agreement between Exar Corporation and Sipex Corporation. The record date for voting at the special meeting is July 16, 2007. The meeting will take place on Thursday, August 23, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. PDT at Sipex corporate headquarters, 233 South Hillview Drive, Milpitas, California. Assuming the merger agreement is adopted, the transaction is expected to close as soon as possible after the special meeting. The closing of the transaction is subject to the approval of stockholders from both companies as well as customary closing conditions.

On May 8, 2007, Sipex Corporation (NASDAQ:SIPX) and Exar Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAR) announced that they entered into the merger agreement to combine the two companies. Under the terms of the agreement, Sipex stockholders will receive 0.6679 of a share of Exar for each share of Sipex. Exar stockholders will own approximately 67.6% and Sipex stockholders will own approximately 32.4% of Exar after completion of the transaction, which assumes conversion to stock of outstanding Sipex debt and related warrants.

Additional Information and Where You Can Find It
Exar has filed a Registration Statement on Form S-4 containing a proxy statement/prospectus and other documents concerning the proposed merger transaction with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Security holders are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents filed with the SEC because they will contain important information. Security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed by Exar and Sipex with the SEC at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov/. The proxy statement/prospectus and other documents may also be obtained for free by contacting Exar Investor Relations by e-mail at investorrelations@Exar.com or by telephone at 1-510-668-7201 or by contacting Sipex Investor Relations by e-mail at investorrelations@Sipex.com or by telephone at 1-408-934-7586.

Exar and its executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Exar's stockholders with respect to the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement. Information regarding such executive officers and directors is included in Exar's Proxy Statement for its 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders filed with the SEC on August 9, 2006, which is available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov/ and from Exar Investor Relations which can be contacted by e-mail at investorrelations@Exar.com or by telephone at 1-510-668-7201. Certain executive officers and directors of Exar have interests in the transaction that may differ from the interests of Exar stockholders generally. These interests are described in the proxy statement /prospectus.

Sipex and its executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Sipex's stockholders with respect to the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement. Information regarding such executive officers and directors is included in Sipex's Proxy Statement for its 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders filed with the SEC on October 24, 2006, which is available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov/ and from Sipex Investor Relations which can be contacted by e-mail at investorrelations@Sipex.com or by telephone at 1-408-934-7586. Certain executive officers and directors of Sipex have interests in the transaction that may differ from the interests of Sipex stockholders generally. These interests are described in the proxy statement /prospectus.

About Sipex Corporation
Sipex Corporation is an analog semiconductor company that addresses standard linear and application specific standard products (ASSP) for customer systems that are primarily targeted at the consumer, networking and industrial markets. The products are categorized into three synergistic areas of power management, interface and optical storage. Sipex is a global company with operations in Asia, Europe and North America. It is the mission of the company to create innovative analog products that enable customers to produce differentiated products. For more information about Sipex, visit http://www.sipex.com/.

About Exar Corporation
Exar Corporation designs, develops and markets high-performance, analog and mixed-signal silicon solutions for a variety of markets including networking, serial communications, and storage. Leveraging its industry-proven analog design expertise and system-level knowledge, Exar delivers to customers a wide array of technology solutions for current as well as next generation products. The Company is based in Fremont, CA, had fiscal 2007 revenues of $68.5 million, and employs approximately 235 people worldwide. For more information about the Company visit: http://www.exar.com/

For additional information, contact:
Ralph Schmitt, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 408-934-7500
Fax: 408-935-7686
Email: rschmitt@sipex.com

Source: Sipex Corporation

Web site: http://www.sipex.com/
http://www.exar.com/

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