SiRF CEO Resigns, Banatao Takes Over

April 18, 2008

SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. announced after the close of markets Thursday, April 18 that Michael L. Canning, its CEO and president, had resigned effective immediately, and that its board's founder would take the reigns of the company.

Diosdado P. Banatao, a founder and chairman of SiRF's board of directors, is now serving as executive chairman and has assumed the role of interim president and CEO. Banatao has served as chairman of SiRF's board since its inception and was the initial outside investor in the GPS chip maker.

"Establishing SiRF as a market leader in the location technology field and taking the company public has been a rewarding experience for me," Canning said. "I continue to believe in the market opportunities for location enabled devices and I wish SiRF continued success."

"We are very appreciative of Michael's contribution to the success of SiRF and wish him all the best," Banatao said. "We started SiRF with a vision to bring GPS to consumers and I am very excited about leading the company to the next level."

Banatao is also a managing partner at Tallwood Venture Capital. Previously, he was a venture partner at Mayfield Fund. He is also the founder of S3 Inc., now SonicBlue Inc., where he served as president and CEO from January 1989 until January 1992 and as chairman from January 1992 to December 1997. He also cofounded Chips & Technologies and Mostron. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology and an M.S. in electrical engineering and computer science from Stanford University.

Wall Street reacted positively to the change in leadership. In early afternoon trading on the Nasdaq, SiRF's stock was up more than 17 percent. It closed at $5.47 per share on Thursday, and was trading early this afternoon (Eastern Daylight Savings time) at $6.42.

SiRF has had a hard time of it with investors this year, between the economic slowdown in the United States and reports of pricing pressures at many of its customers in the crowded personal navigation device (PND). SiRF stock was selling for nearly $30 per share late last year as the market headed into the end of the year holiday season, but like many others involved in the PND supply chain, its stock has dropped steadily since.

At the beginning of this year the company was still trading on the Nasdaq in the mid $20 range. Following SiRF's Q4 2007 earnings report in early February, however, in which it reported a net loss, its stock price plunged.