Global Communication Semiconductors, Inc. Secures $10 Million of Financing in Second Closing

Business Wire, March 20, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2002

GCS, Inc. (Global Communication Semiconductors, Inc.), a leading pure-play III-V compound semiconductor foundry service provider, announced today that it has raised an additional $10M, closing out its Series D equity funding round for a total of $27.5M. The investors in this closing were Sirenza Microdevices, Inc. and KLM Capital Group. This follows a $17.5M funding in Series D announced by GCS on January 10, 2002, led by TCW/YFY Investment Partners, LTD.

"This additional $10M further proves the validity of our pure-play foundry business model and will further ensure a successful path for GCS to reach profitability," said Dr. S.K. (Dave) Wang, COO and acting President and CEO of GCS. "We are very pleased to have the participation of Sirenza and KLM. Sirenza is a leading-edge RF components supplier, whose fabless operating model expertise drives us to improve our baseline and advanced process technologies. KLM, and its chairman Don Brooks whose past experience includes directing the world's leading silicon foundries as TSMC's president and UMC's co-CEO, will provide us invaluable counsel as we continue our growth as a pure-play semiconductor foundry," continued Dr. Wang.

"We're pleased to join other strategic investors in funding the growth of GCS as a leading-edge foundry for RF components," said Robert Van Buskirk, President and CEO of Sirenza Microdevices, Inc. "GCS supports our fabless operating model by providing Sirenza a source for advanced process technologies while retaining its pure-play foundry model. Our joint support for advanced compound semiconductor technologies and our complementary business models help to strengthen Sirenza's leadership across a broad spectrum of products for both wireless and broadband wireline market," continued Van Buskirk.

"A III-V compound semiconductor foundry industry can now be supported since the fabrication processes are becoming standardized and market volume needs have reached critical mass," said Don Brooks. "Like silicon in the early 90s we will see growth in III-V foundries fueled by new fabless design companies. We believe GCS is at the forefront with leading technology," continued Brooks.

About Sirenza Microdevices, Inc.

Sirenza Microdevices, Inc., an ISO 9002-certified manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with design centers throughout the U.S. and Canada, is a leading supplier of high-performance RF components for the wireless and wireline telecommunications markets. The company's products include power modules, low-noise amplifiers, high-linearity gain blocks, high-performance transistors, modulators, switches, mixers, upconverters and downconverters, and high-performance multi-component modules (MCMs) for transmit and receive applications. Product information may be found on Sirenza's website at www.sirenza.com.

About KLM Capital Group

KLM Capital, a global technology venture partner, focuses on early stage investments in the communications, information technology and semiconductor industries and maintains offices in Silicon Valley, Austin and Hong Kong. For more information, visit KLM's website at www.klmtech.com.

About GCS

Global Communication Semiconductors Inc., based in Torrance, California, an ISO 9002-certified company, provides compound semiconductor foundry services to the wireless telecommunication and high-speed networking industries. GCS currently offers foundry service for both InGaP and InP HBT processes and provides optoelectronic foundry services for PIN diodes used in the fiber optic communication market. Additional information may be found at www.gcsincorp.com.