EL SEGUNDO, CA. April 1999 - International Rectifier Corporation (NYSE:IRF - news) announced today that it entered into a worldwide royalty-bearing license agreement with Shindengen Electric Company under International Rectifier's power MOSFET/IGBT patents.

Shindengen will pay IR an undisclosed sum in consideration of royalties for prior periods, as well as ongoing royalties on worldwide sales covered by the licensed IR patents. The agreement is effective as of January 1, 1999.

Power MOSFETs and IGBTs are power transistors used to improve circuit performance and energy efficiency in a broad range of commercial, industrial, and government/space applications. Worldwide sales of these products total about $3 billion annually, and the MOSFET/IGBT market has grown faster than integrated circuits for most of the last decade.

International Rectifier developed and marketed the industry's first power MOSFET transistors to gain wide commercial acceptance. The company is the market leader in this field and has a comprehensive portfolio of fundamental power MOSFET/IGBT patents.

International Rectifier is a major worldwide supplier of components and subsystems that convert electrical power to operate power supplies, motor drives, and lighting ballasts. Its patented HEXFET® power MOSFETs and IGBTs make IR the world leader in field effect transistors. IR's technological advances improve the performance and energy efficiency of electronic and electrical equipment in automotive, consumer, computer/peripheral, industrial, lighting, telecom, and government/space applications.