There is a substantial body of op-inion that at $122m, Fairchild Semiconductor was a steal for National Semiconductor Corp, and the company is certainly close to euphoric on the potential benefits, talking in terms of a new world-class competitor far stronger than the two companies standing alone, and making the new NatSemi America’s best technologically balanced semiconductor supplier: particular pleasure is expressed at the combi-nation of NatSemi’s position in CMOS with Fairchild’s strong position in advanced bipolar technologies, and it is noted that both companies have developed advanced forms of mixed bipolar and CMOS technology – the so-called Bi-CMOS – for producing new generations of complex peripheral circuits; NatSemi says it will combine the two firms with the least possible disruption to either set of employees.