Acquisition

Zen Research PLC
24 April 2001

24 April 2001



                     ZEN RESEARCH ACQUIRES SILICON VALUE



* Enhances Zen's chip design capability

* Accelerates cost reduction of future Zen enabled ASICs

* Addresses expanded market for Zen technology

Zen Research plc ('Zen'), the developer and licensor of Multibeam and True X
technologies for use in production of high-performance components for DVD and
CD drives, has acquired most of the assets of Jerusalem based Silicon Value
(S.V.) Ltd. ('Silicon Value'), a subsidiary of the NASDAQ listed Tioga
Technologies, for a total of US$ 22.25 million in cash and debt assumption.
The assets were acquired by a wholly owned subsidiary of Zen Research plc, New
Silicon Value.

New Silicon Value is a developer of highly advanced technology and design
services that significantly reduce the size, and thereby the cost, of complex
Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). This technology is directly
applicable to the ASICs designed by Zen for Multibeam optical drives. New
Silicon Value operates as a fabless semiconductor company; customers include
Cisco and Avaya.

In addition to developing custom silicon designs for Zen, New Silicon Value
will continue to supply its existing markets. As part of the transaction, Zen
will be offering employee retention provisions and contracts to keep key
management and engineers in place for an extended term. New Silicon Value will
employ approximately 60 people.

As of 31 March 2001, the audited net book value of the assets purchased was
US$ 2.8 million. For the quarter ended 31 March 2001, these assets generated
operating income of $1.2 million on revenues of $4.8 million and for the year
ended 31 December 2000 they generated an operating loss of $6.8 million on
revenues of $9.7 million.

Reasons for acquisition:

Since its IPO in July 2000, Zen has substantially expanded its market horizon
and attracted additional licensed partners. Specifically, Zen has added eight
licensees since July, for a current total of twelve, including three of the
top seven CD and DVD drive manufacturers. The first Zen-enabled Multibeam DVD
drive for personal computers is expected to be available this year.

The most recent Zen licensees are two consumer product companies. Through New
Silicon Value, Zen intends to address the needs of such customers with silicon
designs that are smaller, faster and less expensive. The Company believes that
more compact and efficient ASIC designs will also accelerate the penetration
of Zen enabled products into the PC drive market.



Emil Jachmann, Chief Executive, Zen Research plc, said:

'Our entry into the PC optical drive market is proceeding with our partners
and should bring substantial revenue to Zen in 2002 as well as initial
profitability. Our entry into the consumer electronics market, which last year
looked like a distant upside, is suddenly on the horizon and consumer product
development projects with our most recent licensees have already commenced.
Accordingly, we must accelerate our cost reduction efforts and the acquisition
of Silicon Value will be a major contributor.'

                                   - End -

For further information:

Emil Jachmann, Chief Executive           Tel: [phone]

Mark Way, Vice President Investor Relations

Zen Research plc

Oliver Jones                              Tel: [phone]

Bell Pottinger Financial

www.zenresearch.com