PMC SIERRA INC
10-K, 1999-03-26
SEMICONDUCTORS & RELATED DEVICES
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                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 10-K

            [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
                  For the fiscal year ended: December 27, 1998

          [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
                       For the transition period from: to

                         Commission File Number 0-19084

                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

             Delaware                                94-2925073
   (State or other jurisdiction         (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
        of incorporation)     

                              105-8555 BAXTER PLACE
                       BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, V5A 4V7
                                     CANADA
          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (604) 415-6000
        Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None
          Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
                         Common Stock, par value $0.001

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required
to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the  preceding 12 months (or for such  shorter  period that the  Registrant  was
required  to file  such  reports),  and  (2) has  been  subject  to such  filing
requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes __X__   No _____

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent  filers  pursuant to Item 405
of Regulation  S-K is not contained  herein,  and will not be contained,  to the
best of Registrant's  knowledge,  in definitive proxy or information  statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this
Form 10-K. [ ]

The  aggregate  market  value of the voting stock held by  nonaffiliates  of the
Registrant,  based upon the closing  sale price of the Common  Stock on February
28,  1999,  as  reported  by  the  Nasdaq  National  Market,  was  approximately
$1,592,084,000.  Shares of  Common  Stock  held by each  executive  officer  and
director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding  voting stock
have been  excluded in that such  persons may be deemed to be  affiliates.  This
determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive  determination
for other purposes.

As of February 28, 1999, the  Registrant  had 31,669,103  shares of Common Stock
outstanding.

                       DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

           Parts of  the  Proxy  Statement  for  Registrant's  1999
           Annual  Meeting  of  Stockholders  are  incorporated  by
           reference  in Items  10,  11, 12 and 13 Part III of this
           Form 10-K Report.

<PAGE>

                                     PART I

ITEM 1.  Business.

GENERAL
- -------

In this Annual  Report,  when we refer to  "PMC-Sierra",  "PMC",  "the Company",
"us",  "our"  or  "we",  we  include  PMC-Sierra,  Inc.  and all our  subsidiary
companies.

We design, develop, market and support high-performance semiconductor networking
solutions.  Our products are used in the high speed  transmission and networking
systems which are being used to restructure  the global  telecommunications  and
data communications infrastructure.

We provide components for equipment based on Asynchronous Transfer Mode ("ATM"),
Synchronized Optical Network ("SONET"),  Synchronized Digital Hierarchy ("SDH"),
T1/E1/J1 and T3/E3/J2 access transmission and ethernet protocols. Our networking
products adhere to  international  standards and are sold on the merchant market
to over 100  customers  either  directly or through our  worldwide  distribution
channels.

In May of 1998, we expanded our portfolio of ATM layer and switching products by
acquiring   Integrated   Telecom   Technology  Inc.   ("IGT")  in  exchange  for
approximately  $55  million in cash and PMC common  stock and options to buy PMC
common stock. IGT was a fabless  semiconductor company that had its headquarters
in  Gaithersburg,  MD  and  a  development  site  in  San  Jose,  CA.  IGT  made
segmentation-and-reassembly  and ATM  switching  chipsets  for wide area network
applications as well as ATM and other telecommunication chips.

In August 1996,  we announced our decision to exit the personal  computer  modem
chipset business, to restructure our other non-networking  business and focus on
networking  semiconductors.  By the end of 1997,  we had  changed  our name from
Sierra Semiconductor to PMC-Sierra, disposed the remainder of our modem products
and completed all other  material  aspects of the  restructuring.  Our remaining
non-networking  products  are  still  being  sold  but we are not  planning  new
development or follow-on products.

PMC-Sierra   was   incorporated   in  the  State  of   California  in  1983  and
reincorporated in the State of Delaware in 1997. Our principal  executive office
is located at 105-8555 Baxter Place,  Burnaby,  B.C., Canada V5A 4V7. Our Common
Stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "PMCS."

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND
- -------------------

The   primary   drivers  of   internetworking   demand   enabling   PMC-Sierra's
semiconductor  business  are the  emergence  of the  Internet,  the  upgrade  of
corporate data networks and remote  access.  The common element to each of these
drivers is the high bandwidth  demand for data.  Whereas legacy telecom networks
were optimized for voice (circuit)  processing,  the newest network  deployments
are being optimized for data transfer and packet processing.
<PAGE>

The Internet and its increased usage by corporate and  residential  customers is
putting  a  tremendous   strain  on  the  public  wide  area   network   ("WAN")
telecommunications  infrastructure.  At the beginning of the decade, these Plain
Old Telephone  Networks ("POTS") handled primarily voice traffic while the small
amount of data traffic which existed (from  applications such as faxes, etc) was
supported by the readily capacity-available voice circuits.  However, throughout
the decade,  data  traffic  grew more  quickly  than voice  traffic,  eventually
exceeding voice traffic levels.

Thus,  existing POTS circuits are no longer adequate in supporting the volume of
data  traffic  emerging  from  residential,   customer  premise  and  enterprise
networks.  In fact,  new  data-optimized  packet  networks based on the Internet
Protocol ("IP") are being deployed specifically for the high volume data traffic
while supporting the relatively low volume voice applications (Voice-over-IP).

The  Internet  is  creating  the  demand  for more  bandwidth  for the  network.
Statistics indicate that Internet IP data traffic is doubling every 100 days and
that overall IP traffic increases by over an order of magnitude every year. This
traffic must set-up and tear down Internet  sessions  several  hundred times per
hour.  Legacy telecom  networks  designed to set-up and tear down voice sessions
lasting 10 minutes or longer are inadequate to handle multiple Internet sessions
as short as a `point-and-click'.

The best ways to add bandwidth for the network include increasing the density of
the bandwidth  pipes and utilizing  traffic  management and  congestion  control
techniques to make more  effective  use of the existing  bandwidth  pipes.  Both
trends are  occurring  simultaneously  as the global  networking  infrastructure
moves toward an equipment overhaul.

In 1998 there was more than 100 thousand miles of unused fiber  bandwidth  pipes
deployed by carriers such as Williams,  Level 3, UUNET and IXC. This  deployment
provides  more  capacity in the core of the WAN as well as for new  Metropolitan
Area  Network  ("MAN")  rings.  An emerging  trend  called  Wavelength  Division
Multiplexing  ("WDM")  also  increases  capacity  by  providing  for various 2.4
Gigabit and 10 Gigabit  bandwidth  color channels  within a single optical fiber
strand.

Multi-service  carriers  seek to provide  Service Level  Agreements  ("SLAs") to
their  customers  based on a  certain  guarantee  of  bandwidth  for  data/voice
transport or Internet access.  These SLAs are very lucrative revenue drivers for
the carriers as the most critical  traffic  requirements  can be guaranteed at a
high premium. Quality of Service ("QoS") traffic management techniques make SLAs
possible for the carriers.  Protocols  such as ATM have developed the capability
for providing QoS standard  guarantees and, as such, these protocols are favored
by  traditional  service  provider  carriers.  Protocols  such as IP  have  less
developed QoS characteristics. The current lack of world-class QoS standards has
been one of the chief inhibitors to ubiquitous  implementation  of IP across the
emerging global network.

The  following  specific  trends are important to  PMC-Sierra's  internetworking
semiconductor businesses:

o    For LAN corporate data  networks,  existing  unmanaged 10 megabit  Ethernet
     hubs are being upgraded to 10/100 megabit Ethernet  workgroup switches with
     advanced  management  features.  These are, in turn, uplinked into advanced
     Enterprise  switches that can run  combinations  of 100 megabit and gigabit
     Ethernet  traffic.  An  emerging  trend is the  ability to provide  Layer 3
     switching  protocol in firmware and hardware so as to increase  performance
     of Enterprise data switching and routing.

o    Internet Service Providers (ISPs) utilize multi-platform  Point-of-Presence
     equipment to  concentrate  64 kilobit DS0, n*64 kilobit  fractional T1, 1.5
     megabit T1, 2.0 megabit E1 and 45 megabit T3 into larger  pipes.  Typically
     these are  SONET/SDH  pipes of 155 megabit or larger which form the MAN and
     WAN core  backbones of the new public  network.  The  High-speed  Data Link
     Control ("HDLC") protocol is essential in connecting lower speed data/voice
     Frame Relay streams into the WAN.
<PAGE>

o    For Remote Access data and voice networks,  legacy Frame Relay networks are
     being  upgraded to aggregate  increased  densities of dial- and  dedicated-
     line traffic as well as to differentiate  between specific traffic protocol
     types such as ATM, Frame Relay and IP. These new  applications are referred
     to as Any-Service-Any-Port ("ASAP").

o    For data,  voice and  video  traffic  which  seek to define  effective  QoS
     guarantees  and traffic  control  predictability,  ATM  networks  are being
     created  which can scale from  low-rate 1.5 megabits to  terabit-rates  and
     beyond.  ATM networks adhere to standards  created by the ATM Forum such as
     TM4.1  that  provide a  complete  range of  network  services  from  direct
     connections  and guaranteed CBR (Constant Bit Rate)  bandwidth for a single
     protocol to lower priority ABR (Available Bit Rate) traffic  classes across
     multiple  protocols.  ATM networks are being used  increasingly in edge and
     core switching and  transmission  systems that seek to provide QoS to users
     on a per-connection basis.

o    The current Internet  infrastructure  is dominated by router entry into WAN
     backbone  fiber pipes.  Certain IP traffic  requires  maximum  transmission
     bandwidth over a point-to-point  connection and is willing to trade-off QoS
     and other management processing. For these applications, mapping IP traffic
     directly  into  SONET/SDH  frames  is far more  effective  because  it uses
     valuable  transmission  bandwidth  for  extraneous  management  processing.
     IP-Over-SONET/SDH  ("POS") is used in fast  Ethernet  and gigabit  Ethernet
     switches  as an uplink to MAN/WAN  core fiber  backbone  rings,  high-speed
     terabit routers and remote access concentrators to map IP, Ethernet,  Frame
     Relay or  other  packet  traffic  directly  into  SONET/SDH  pipes  without
     segmentation into fixed-length sizes.

o    For residential Internet opportunities, the current 56 kilobit analog modem
     is viewed by many consumers as  inefficient.  Emerging  Digital  Subscriber
     Line ("DSL")  technology  enables up to several  megabits of bandwidth  for
     Internet access while utilizing  traditional  copper `local loop' telephone
     wiring.  New  DSL  access  multiplexer   ("DSLAM")  equipment  is  becoming
     available  which will take  advantage of ATM Layer 2 switching  and traffic
     management to aggregate residential Internet data traffic into the WAN.

o    Wireless voice and data opportunities are being generated by the deployment
     of Base  Transceiver  Stations  which convert waves of radio  frequency air
     traffic into  wirelined  backhaul pipes to Base Station  Controllers  which
     provide aggregation,  switching and processing intelligence. These backhaul
     pipes  operate at primarily  1.5 megabit T1 and 2.0 megabit E1 rates.  HDLC
     and ATM  protocols  are  important  for this  equipment as they provide the
     interface and processing for the aggregated T1 and E1 pipes.

<PAGE>

NETWORKING PRODUCTS
- -------------------

We provide  networking  semiconductor  devices and related technical service and
support  to  equipment   manufacturers  for  use  in  their  communications  and
networking   equipment.   The  Company's  objective  is  to  develop  networking
semiconductors that enable network systems vendors to get to market quickly with
high performance, cost effective and scalable systems.

We provide  networking  semiconductor  solutions that are used in key networking
and  communications  equipment.  Our product  offerings can be grouped into four
general areas: ATM, SONET/SDH [including  Packet-over-SONET/SDH ("POS")], Remote
Access and Ethernet  switching.  These products are generally used in networking
equipment as follows:

         Networking Equipment               ATM   SONET/SDH   ACCESS   ETHERNET

Wide Area Network (WAN)
  Remote Access Equipment
    Frame Relay Access Devices                                  X
    Access Multiplexers/DSLAMs*              X                  X
    Wireless Basestations                    X                  X
    Voice Switches                           X        X         X
    Digital Loop Carriers                    X                  X
    Frame Relay Switches                     X                  X
    Internet Access Concentrators            X                  X

  Transmission and Switching Equipment
    WAN Edge Switches                        X        X         X         X
    Routers                                  X        X         X         X
    WAN Core Switches                        X        X         X
    Digital Cross - Connects                 X        X         X
    Add-Drop Multiplexers                    X        X         X
    Terminal Multiplexers                    X        X         X

Local Area Network (LAN)
  Switches/Routers                           X                  X         X
  Network Interface Cards                    X

* DSLAM = Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer


<PAGE>


The following is a summary of some of our more  significant  products  currently
available.  The purpose of this table is only to provide a general understanding
of where our products fit. Our chips may not perform all the  functions  related
to a specific layer of the networking  hierarchy.  For example, we have a number
of  single  port  OC-3 ATM  physical  layer  products  which  perform  different
functions  within the first layer of the networking  hierarchy and are generally
used in different  applications.  In addition, our ATM switching chipsets (refer
to the QRT and QSE below) and our  Ethernet  EXACT  products  primarily  provide
layer 2 functionality, but have some limited layer 3 capabilities.


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

     Product                        Description          Voltage                 Clock Rates                 Networking Hierarchy
- ----------------- -------------------------------------- ------- ----------------------------------------- -------------------------
                                                                  T1  E1  T3  E3  J2    OC3   OC12  >OC12  Layer 1  Layer 2 Layer 3
ATM                                                                                    
<S>                     <C>                                <C>    <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>      <C>   <C>     <C>      <C>    <C>
  S/UNI-MPH       Quad T1/E1 ATM Interface                 5v     x   x                                      x
  S/UNI-PDH       T1/E1/T3/E3  + ATM                       5v     x   x   x   x                              x
  S/UNI-155       1-port PHY                               5v                            x                   x
  S/UNI-155-LITE  1-port PHY + analog CRU/CSU              5v                            x                   x
  S/UNI-PLUS      enhanced 1-port PHY + analog CRU/CSU     5v                            x                   x
  S/UNI-155-DUAL  2-port PHY + analog CRU/CSU              5v                            x                   x
  S/UNI-QUAD      4-port PHY + analog CRU/CSU              3.3v                          x                   x
  S/UNI-155-ULTRA 1-port PHY + UTP-5 + analog CRU/CSU      5v                            x                   x
  S/UNI 622       1-port PHY                               5v                            x     x             x
  S/UNI-622 MAX   1-port PHY + analog CRU/CSU              3.3v                                x             x
  RCMP-800        Routing Control, Monitoring & Policing   5v                            x     x                      x
  RCMP-200        Routing Control, Monitoring & Policing   5v                            x                            x
  AAL1gatorII     AAL1 SAR                                 3.3v   x   x   x   x   x                                   x
  LASAR-155       ATM PHY & SAR                            5v                            x                   x        x
  QRT             Quad Routing Table                       3.3v   x   x   x   x   x      x     x                      x      limited
  QSE             Quad Switching Element                   3.3v   x   x   x   x   x      x     x                      x      limited
                                                                                       
SONET/SDH and POS                                                                      
  TUPP            VT/TU Payload Alignor/Processor          5v     x   x                                      x
  TUPP-PLUS       TUPP + Performance Monitor               5v     x   x                                      x
  TUDX            VT/TU X-Connect Switch                   5v     x   x                                      x
  STXC            Transport Overhead Terminator            5v                            x                   x
  STTX            Transport Overhead Terminator            5v                                  x             x
  SPECTRA-155     Payload Extractor/Aligner                5v                            x                   x
  SPTX            Path Terminating Tranceiver              5v                            x                   x
  S/UNI TETRA     4-port ATM + POS PHY + analog CRU/CSU    3.3v                          x                   x
  S/UNI-622-POS   1-port ATM + POS PHY + analog CRU/CSU    3.3v                                x             x
                                                                                       
Access                                                                                 
  T1XC            1-port framer + analog                   5v     x                                          x
  COMET           1-port framer + long haul analog         3.3v   x   x                                      x
  E1XC            1-port framer + analog                   5v         x                                      x
  QDSX            4-port short haul analog LIU             5v     x   x                                      x
  TQUAD           4-port framer                            5v     x                                          x
  EQUAD           4-port framer                            5v         x                                      x
  TOCTL           8-port framer                            3.3v   x                                          x
  EOCTL           8-port framer                            3.3v       x                                      x
  S/UNI QJET      4-port framer or ATM UNI                 3.3v   x   x   x   x   x                          x
  D3MX            M13 Multiplexer/Demultiplexer            5v     x       x                                  x
  FREEDM-8        8 link, 128 channel HDLC Controller      3.3v   x   x   x   x                                       x
  FREEDM-32       32 link, 128 channel HDLC Controller     3.3v   x   x   x   x                                       x
                                                                                       
                                                                                       
Ethernet                                                                               
  EXACT - PM3370  8x100 port controller                    3.3v                       100mb/s                         x      limited
  EXACT - PM3371  8x100 low cost port controller           3.3v                       100mb/s                         x
  EXACT - PM3380  1x1000 port controller                   3.3v                                      x                x      limited
  EXACT - PM3390  8 to 16 port EXACT Switch Matrix         3.3v                                      x                x      limited
  EXACT - PM3391  6-port EXACT Bus Switch Matrix           3.3v                                      x                x
                                                           
</TABLE>
                                                             
<PAGE>

The S/UNI  product  line offers  physical  layer  solutions  in a range from 1.5
megabits to 622 megabits.  We offer LAN, Edge and WAN core ATM switch chip sets.
We have  been  recognized  by  industry  analysts  as the  market  leader in ATM
physical layer solutions.

Our ATM physical  layer  products  come in a variety of packages and provide the
interface to copper or fiber cabling  along with framing and mapping  functions.
Our line of RCMP/ATLAS  ATM layer  processors  handle higher layer ATM protocols
such as policing,  operations and management,  fault and performance monitoring,
while our ATM Switch chips offer a routing table and switching  element solution
capable of running at up to 10 gigabytes per second.

In 1998, we added two new ATM physical layer chips: the S/UNI-622-MAX,  a single
channel 622 megabit per second  device and the  S/UNI-QUAD,  a four  channel 155
megabit per second device.  Both offer  integrated  clock recovery and synthesis
and exceed the Bellcore GR-253  intrinsic  transmit jitter and jitter  tolerance
specification - a requirement for  communications  equipment  developers.  These
products may be used in ATM switches,  routers,  remote access concentrators and
up-links.

In 1998,  PMC-Sierra worked closely with members of the SATURN development group
(a  networking  industry  group we co-founded in 1992) to define and introduce a
specification  for POS devices  known as POS-PHY Level 2 and POS-PHY Level 3. We
introduced two POS devices in compliance  with the new POS  specifications:  the
S/UNI-TETRA and the  S/UNI-622-POS.  The S/UNI-TETRA is the industry's first 155
megabit per second  physical  layer device to meet the POS-PHY Level 2 Interface
specification.  The device is a four channel,  dual-mode ATM cell  processor and
POS frame processor. It is used in high-density OC-3c port card designs suitable
for multi-service ATM switches and Layer 3 routers.

The  S/UNI-622-POS  is a 622 megabit per second physical layer device that meets
the SATURN  POS-PHY  Level 3  Interface  specification.  The  S/UNI-622-POS  was
designed  to  allow   enterprise   and  access   equipment  to  support   either
Packet-Over-SONET/SDH  or ATM  over  SONET/SDH.  POS is  aimed  at  transporting
Internet traffic over the public network.

Our Remote Access products  include T1/E1 framers,  and high density Frame Relay
and HDLC controllers.  Our devices are used in data communications  applications
such as multi-service  and digital  subscriber line access  multiplexers,  frame
relay access  devices,  Internet  Protocol  routers,  wireless base stations and
remote   access   concentrators.   Our  access   products   are  also  used  for
telecommunications  applications such as private branch exchanges,  digital loop
carriers,  Class 5 switches,  digital  access cross  connect  systems,  add-drop
multiplexers and base transceiver stations.

In 1998,  we  introduced  the COMET chip  (COMbined  E1,T1,  J1  device).  COMET
represents the fourth  generation of our family of high-density  framer and line
interface  unit (LIU)  telecom  devices.  A single COMET chip supports all three
global  primary  rate  framing  formats,   T1,  E1  and  J1,  and  integrates  a
shorthaul/longhaul analog LIU.

In 1998, we also introduced the EOCTL.  The EOCTL is an eight-channel E1 framer.
E1 is the European/Asian equivalent of the T1 transmission technology.  This low
power 3.3 volt device meets  European  standards  and is  pin-compatible  to the
TOCTL product we  introduced  in 1997.  The EOCTL can help increase card density
and reduce design time for our customers' Internet access equipment.

During  1998,  we began  sampling our EXACT  chipset,  which offers a variety of
ethernet  switching  configurations.  We offer two 8-port  10/100 fast  ethernet
single chip port  controllers,  a single port gigabit  ethernet port controller,
and 6 and 8 port  EXACT  Bus  Switch  Matrices.  All of our  ethernet  switching
chipsets  offer  layer 2 and some  offer  some  layer 3  functionality.  Gigabit
ethernet  is a new  product  area  for us.  At the end of  1998,  we were  still
revising  our products  with the  objective  of having  production  worthy parts
available in the second quarter of 1999.
<PAGE>

NON-NETWORKING PRODUCTS
- -----------------------

In the third  quarter  of 1996,  we  announced  our  decision  to exit the modem
chipset  business and  discontinue  development of our graphics,  multimedia and
custom chipsets. We disposed of all modem-related  inventories in 1997. Revenues
from other non-networking  products declined rapidly in 1998. Due to the lack of
any  follow-on  products,  these  products are expected to  experience a further
significant decline in 1999.

SALES, MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
- ---------------------------------

Our sales  and  marketing  strategy  is to  achieve  design  wins by  developing
superior products. We maintain close working relationships with our customers in
order to make products that address their needs. We provide technical support to
customers through field application  engineers,  technical marketing and factory
systems engineers.  We believe that providing  comprehensive product service and
support is critical to shortening  customers'  design  cycles and  maintaining a
competitive position in the networking market.

We sell our products  directly,  through  distribution  and through  independent
manufacturers'  representatives.   Using  these  channels,  Lucent  Technologies
(including  Ascend  Communications)  and Cisco Systems each represented  greater
than 10% of our 1998  revenues.  In 1998,  the  country  purchasing  the largest
percentage  of our products  outside of the US was Canada at 10%.  Historically,
international sales accounted for the following percentages of our net revenues:
32% in 1998,  30% in 1997 and 46% in 1996.  See  "Factors  You  Should  Consider
Before  Investing In PMC-Sierra - `Our Customer Base is  Concentrated'  and `Our
Global Business Approach Subjects Us to Additional Risks'".

MANUFACTURING
- -------------

Independent  foundries and chip assemblers  manufacture all of our products.  We
receive  most of our  wafers  in  finished  form  from  Chartered  Semiconductor
Manufacturing  Ltd.  ("Chartered"),   and  Taiwan  Semiconductor   Manufacturing
Corporation  ("TSMC").   These  independent  foundries  produce  our  networking
products  at  feature  sizes  down to 0.35  micron.  We  believe  that by  using
independent foundries to fabricate our wafers, we are better able to concentrate
our resources on designing and testing new products.  In addition, we avoid much
of the capital cost associated with owning and operating a fabrication facility.

We  have  supply   agreements  with  two   independent   foundries  that  supply
substantially  all of the  wafers for our  products.  We have made  deposits  to
secure access to wafer fabrication capacity under these agreements.  At December
31, 1998 and 1997,  we had $23.1 and $27.1  million,  respectively,  in deposits
with those  foundries  and we were in  compliance  with our foundry  agreements.
There are no  minimum  unit  volume  requirements  in these  agreements.  We are
obliged  under one of the  agreements  to purchase a minimum  percentage  of our
total annual wafer requirements provided that the foundry is able to continue to
offer competitive technology,  pricing, quality and delivery. The agreements may
be terminated if either party does not comply with the terms.
<PAGE>

Wafers  supplied by outside  foundries  must meet our incoming  quality and test
standards.  We conduct the  majority of our test  operations  on advanced  mixed
signal and digital  test  equipment  in our Burnaby,  British  Columbia,  Canada
facility. The remainder of our testing is performed predominantly by independent
Asian companies.

We face risks when we outsource  the  manufacture  and assembly of our products.
See "Factors You Should Consider  Before  Investing in PMC-Sierra - We Must Have
Access to Wafer Fabrication and Other Manufacturing Capacity to Succeed."

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
- ------------------------

We  undertake  research  and  development  to design  new  products,  as we must
introduce new products to continue to grow. Our current  efforts are targeted at
integrating  multiple  channels or functions  on single  chips,  broadening  the
number of products we provide to address varying  protocols,  and increasing the
speed at which our chips operate.

We  have  design  centers  in or near  Vancouver  (Canada),  Portland  (Oregon),
Gaithersburg (Maryland), San Jose (California), Montreal (Canada), and Saskatoon
(Canada).

As a  result  of our  decision  to exit  from the  modem  chipset  business  and
restructure  our  non-networking   operations,   we  discontinued  research  and
development on non-networking products.

We spent $34.3 million in 1998, $22.9 million in 1997, and $29.4 million in 1996
on  research  and  development.  We also  expensed  $39.2  million of in process
research and  development,  $37.8 million of which related to the acquisition of
IGT and $1.4 million of which related to the  acquisition  of other  technology.
Similarly,  in  1996  we  expensed  $7.8  million  of in  process  research  and
development  related to our  acquisition  of  certain  assets of Bit,  Inc.  See
"Management,  Discussion  and  Analysis of  Financial  Condition  and  Operating
Results - Other Costs and Expenses"  and  "Consolidated  Financial  Statements -
Note 2".

We may not  successfully  develop new  products and our products may not achieve
market  acceptance.  See  "Factors  You  Should  Consider  Before  Investing  In
PMC-Sierra - We Need to  Successfully  Develop and Introduce Our New Products to
Succeed".

BACKLOG
- -------

We sell primarily pursuant to standard short-term purchase orders. Our customers
frequently revise the quantity actually  purchased and the shipment schedules to
reflect changes in their needs. As of December 31, 1998, our backlog of products
scheduled for shipment  within six months totaled $56.3 million.  As of December
31,  1997,  our backlog of products  scheduled  for  shipment  within six months
totaled $36.3  million.  Our  customers may cancel a significant  portion of the
backlog at their discretion  without penalty.  Accordingly,  we believe that our
backlog at any given time is not a meaningful indicator of future revenues.



<PAGE>


COMPETITION
- -----------

The markets for our  products  are  intensely  competitive  and subject to rapid
technological  change  and  price  erosion.

We believe that our ability to compete successfully in these markets depends on:

o   our product performance, quality and pricing;
o   our, our competitors' and our customers' timing and success of new
      product introductions;
o   our ability to innovate;
o   our ability to deliver working products on schedule;
o   market acceptance of standards for which we have produced products;  
o   our ability to obtain adequate manufacturing capacity;
o   our subcontractors' production efficiency; 
o   the rate at which our customers incorporate our products into their
      designs; and
o   our competitors' assertion of intellectual property rights.

We typically face  competition  at the design stage,  where  customers  evaluate
alternative design approaches that require integrated circuits.  Our competitors
have  increasingly  frequent  opportunities  to  supplant  our  products in next
generation  systems  because of shortened  product life and design-in  cycles in
many of our customers' products.

Our competitors are major domestic and  international  semiconductor  companies,
many of which have substantially  greater financial and other resources than us.
Emerging  companies also provide  significant  competition in our segment of the
semiconductor   market.   Our  competitors   include   Advanced  Micro  Circuits
Corporation,   Broadcom,   Conexant  Systems,   Cypress  Semiconductor,   Dallas
Semiconductor,   Galileo  Technology,   Intel  Corporation,   Integrated  Device
Technology,  Level  One  Communications,   Lucent  Technologies,  Motorola,  MMC
Networks, Siemens, Texas Instruments, Transwitch and Vitesse Semiconductor. Over
the next few years,  we expect  additional  competitors,  some of which also may
have  greater  financial  and  other  resources,  to enter the  market  with new
products.

LICENSES, PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS
- --------------------------------

We have granted Chartered  Semiconductor a non-exclusive  license to manufacture
and sell  integrated  circuits  based on our  designs  and  integrated  circuits
designed  by  Chartered   Semiconductor   or  its  parent   company.   Chartered
Semiconductor also has a worldwide  non-exclusive  right to manufacture  digital
integrated  circuits  for third  parties,  unless we  designed  the  circuit  or
previously  supplied the circuit to the customer.  Chartered  Semiconductor  has
also licensed its  manufacturing  technology to us for non-exclusive use outside
Singapore.  The license  agreement expires in November 1999. Upon termination of
the agreement,  the licenses to use the technology continue,  but obligations to
update licensed technology terminate.
<PAGE>

We have several U.S. patents and a number of pending patent  applications in the
U.S.  and  Europe.  In  addition to such  factors as  innovation,  technological
expertise and experienced personnel, we believe that a strong patent position is
becoming  increasingly  important to compete  effectively in the industry and we
have an active program to acquire additional patent protection.

We apply for mask work protection on our circuit designs.  We attempt to protect
our software,  trade secrets and other  proprietary  information by, among other
security  measures,   entering  into  proprietary  information  agreements  with
employees. Although we intend to protect our rights vigorously, we cannot assure
that these measures will be successful.  See "Factors You Should Consider Before
Investing In PMC-Sierra - Our Products Employ Proprietary Technology That We May
Not Be Able to Protect."

PMC and its logo are our registered  trademarks and service marks.  We own other
trademarks  and service  marks not  appearing  in this Form 10-K Annual  Report.
Other  trademarks  used in this  Form  10-K  Annual  Report  are  owned by other
entities.

EMPLOYEES
- ---------

As of  December  31,  1998,  the  Company had 435  employees,  including  255 in
research  and  development,  47  in  production  and  quality  assurance,  82 in
marketing and sales and 51 in administration.  Our employees are not represented
by a  collective  bargaining  agreement.  We have  never  experienced  any  work
stoppage. We believe our employee relations are good.




<PAGE>


ITEM 2.  Properties.

Our executive offices and much of our test, sales and marketing,  and design and
engineering  operations  are  located in an  approximately  100,000  square foot
leased facility in Burnaby,  British Columbia,  Canada.  This facility is leased
through  April  2006.   The  Company  also  leases  offices  for  its  staff  in
Massachusetts,  North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Maryland,  California,  Ontario
(Canada), Quebec (Canada), Barbados, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

PMC-Sierra  (Maryland),  Inc. leases  approximately 23,000 square feet of office
space  in  Maryland  and San  Jose,  while  PMC-Sierra  Inc.  (Portland)  leases
approximately 9,000 square feet of office space in Oregon.  These facilities are
leased through June 2005, June 1999 and March 1999 respectively.


ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings.

In February  1999,  a complaint  naming  PMC-Sierra,  Inc. and a number of other
semiconductor  companies  was  filed in  United  States  District  Court for the
District  of  Arizona   (captioned   Lemelson  Medical,   Education  &  Research
Foundation, Ltd. Partnership v Intel Corp. et al. Civ. 99-0377 PHX RGS) alleging
that each  defendant  manufactures  or has had  manufactured  for it  integrated
circuits using manufacturing processes that violate patents owned by plaintiff.

The  litigation  is in its  initial  stages,  and  the  Company  is not  able to
reasonably  estimate  the  potential  losses,  if any,  that may be  incurred in
relation to this litigation.


ITEM 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

Not applicable.


<PAGE>


                                     PART II



ITEM 5.  Market for Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters.

Stock  Price  Information.  The  Company's  Common  Stock  trades on the  Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol PMCS. The following  table sets forth,  for the
periods indicated, the high and low closing sale prices for the Company's Common
Stock as reported by the Nasdaq National Market:

  1997                                                    High        Low
  
  
  First Quarter....................................      $18.13      $13.88
  Second Quarter...................................       26.38       13.88
  Third Quarter....................................       35.13       24.50
  Fourth Quarter...................................       31.88       22.00
  
  
  1998                                                    High        Low
  
  
  First Quarter....................................      $39.06     $26.00
  Second Quarter...................................       51.25      37.00
  Third Quarter....................................       47.75      26.63
  Fourth Quarter...................................       65.63      22.88
  

To maintain  consistency,  the  information  provided above is based on calendar
quarters rather than fiscal quarters.

As of February 28, 1998, there were  approximately  447 holders of record of the
Company's Common Stock.

The  Company  has never paid cash  dividends  on its Common  Stock.  The Company
currently  intends to retain earnings,  if any, for use in its business and does
not  anticipate  paying  any  cash  dividends  in the  foreseeable  future.  The
Company's current bank credit agreement prohibits the payment of cash dividends.

<PAGE>



ITEM 6.  Selected Financial Data.
Summary Consolidated Financial Data
(in thousands, except for per share data)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                           Year Ended December 31,(1)
                                                       --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:                            1998 (2)      1997 (3)      1996 (4)     1995 (5)(7)   1994 (6)(7)

<S>                                                      <C>           <C>           <C>           <C>           <C>      
Net revenues                                             $ 161,812     $ 127,166     $ 188,371     $ 188,724     $ 104,764
                                                       ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Gross profit                                               123,592        94,101        93,423        91,614        46,960
Research and development                                    34,280        22,880        29,350        23,428        15,702
In process research and development (2), (4), (6)           39,176             -         7,783             -        12,748
Impairment of intangibles assets (2)                         4,311             -             -             -             -
Marketing, general and administrative                       28,755        23,663        30,691        30,051        23,683
Purchase price adjustment - compensation                         -             -             -        10,624             -
Restructuring and other charges                                  -        (1,383)       64,670             -        (1,559)
                                                       ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Income (loss) from operations                               17,070        48,941       (39,071)       27,511        (3,614)
                                                       ============  ============  ============  ============  ============
Income (loss) from continuing operations                    (2,878)       34,258       (48,150)       23,976        (7,916)
Loss from discontinued operations                                -             -             -       (22,497)         (666)
                                                       ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
Net income (loss)                                        $  (2,878)    $  34,258     $ (48,150)    $   1,479     $  (8,582)
                                                       ============  ============  ============  ============  ============
 

Basic net income (loss) per share:  (8)
  from continuing operations                             $   (0.09)    $    1.10     $   (1.62)    $    0.89     $   (0.36)
  from discontinued operations                           $       -     $       -     $       -     $   (0.83)    $   (0.03)
                                                       ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
  Net income (loss)                                      $   (0.09)    $    1.10     $   (1.62)    $    0.06     $   (0.39)
                                                       ============  ============  ============  ============  ============
                                 
Diluted net income (loss) per share:  (8)
  from continuing operations                             $   (0.09)    $    1.05     $   (1.62)    $    0.84     $   (0.36)
  from discontinued operations                                 $ -     $       -     $       -     $   (0.79)    $   (0.03)
                                                       ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
  Net income (loss)                                      $   (0.09)    $    1.05     $   (1.62)    $    0.05     $   (0.39)
                                                       ============  ============  ============  ============  ============
                                
Shares used to calculate:
  Basic net income (loss) per share                         32,002        31,043        29,719        27,018        22,030
  Diluted net income (loss) per share                       32,002        32,642        29,719        28,620        22,030
                                          

                                                                            As of December 31, (1)(2)
                                                       --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
BALANCE SHEET DATA:                                         1998          1997          1996          1995          1994

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments        $  84,836     $  69,240     $  42,062     $  45,937     $  15,830
Working capital                                             67,615        58,595        20,438        32,741        23,813
Total assets                                               197,298       149,378       129,914       184,860        85,959
Long term debt (including current portion)                  10,132        13,744        24,637        12,718         9,069
Stockholders' equity                                       125,932        90,565        48,444        81,000        34,865

<FN>
(1)  The  Company's  fiscal year ends on the last Sunday of the  calendar  year.
     December 31 has been used as the fiscal year end for ease of  presentation.
     See Note 1 to Consolidated Financial Statements.
(2)  Results for the year ended December 31, 1998 include an in process research
     and  development   charge  of  $39.2  million  related   primarily  to  the
     acquisition of Integrated  Telecom  Technology and a  charge for impairment
     of intangible assets of $4.3 million.
     See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.
(3)  Results for the year ended  December  31,  1997  include a recovery of $1.4
     million  from  the  reversal  of  the  excess  accrued  restructure  charge
     resulting  from  the  conclusion  of  the  restructuring.  See  Note  9  to
     Consolidated Financial Statements.
(4)  Results for the year ended December 31, 1996 include a restructuring charge
     of $69.4 million related to Company's exit from the modem chipset  business
     and the associated  restructuring of its  non-networking  operations.  $4.7
     million of this charge was recorded in cost of sales as an inventory  write
     down, and $64.7 million was recorded as a  restructuring  cost in operating
     expenses.  See Note 9 to Consolidated  Financial Statements.  An in process
     research and  development  charge of $7.8 million was recorded in the third
     quarter for the  acquisition  of ethernet  switching  technology  and other
     assets from Bipolar  Integrated  Technology.  Results of operations include
     costs of continuing  the  development  of ethernet  switching  products and
     related  activities  from the date of the acquisition on September 3, 1996.
     See Note 2 to Consolidated Financial Statements.
(5)  Results  for the year  ended  December  31,  1995  include  the  loss  from
     discontinued  operations  related to  Prometheus  Products,  Inc.  of $22.5
     million,  purchase price  adjustment  relating to the  finalization  of the
     acquisition  of the Company's  Canadian  networking  product  operations of
     $10.6  million,  and gain on sale of shares of SiTel  Sierra  B.V.  of $6.7
     million, which is not included in income from operations.
(6)  Results for the year ended  December 31, 1994 include the operations of the
     networking  business from the date of  acquisition,  September 2, 1994, and
     include in process research and development of $12.7 million, settlement of
     the class action  lawsuit of $2.4 million,  reversal of  restructuring  and
     other  charges of $1.6 million and a loss from  discontinued  operations of
     Prometheus of $0.7 million, which is not included in loss from operations..
(7)  For 1995,  amounts  related to Prometheus  previously  reported  within net
     revenues were $19.0 million;  gross profit (loss) was ($0.1)  million;  and
     net loss was ($4.6)  million.  For 1994,  net revenues  were $3.8  million;
     gross  profit  was  $0.3  million;  and net loss was  ($0.7)  million.  All
     previously  reported amounts have been included in "Loss from  discontinued
     operations".  Net revenues,  gross profit,  research and  development,  and
     marketing,  general  and  administrative  expenses  have been  restated  to
     exclude amounts  relating to Prometheus  Products,  Inc. Balance sheet data
     has been restated to exclude amounts relating to Prometheus.
(8)  Share and per share  information  has been  adjusted  for the 2 for 1 stock
     split effective October 5, 1995.
</FN>
</TABLE>

<PAGE>

Quarterly Comparisons

The following tables set forth consolidated statements of operations for each of
the  Company's  last eight  quarters and the  percentage  of the  Company's  net
revenues represented by each line item reflected in each consolidated  statement
of operations.  This quarterly information is unaudited and has been prepared on
the same basis as the annual consolidated financial statements.  In management's
opinion, this quarterly information reflects all adjustments, consisting only of
normal  recurring  adjustments,   necessary  for  a  fair  presentation  of  the
information for the periods presented. The operating results for any quarter are
not necessarily indicative of results for any future period.

                           Quarterly Data (Unaudited)
                      (in thousands, except per share data)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                  Year Ended December 31, 1998 (1)            Year Ended December 31, 1997 (2)
                                              ------------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------
                                              Fourth      Third     Second      First       Fourth    Third      Second     First
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:                                                                                    
<S>                                           <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>         <C>        <C>        <C>       <C>     
Net revenues                                  $ 45,437   $ 42,105   $ 39,975   $ 34,295    $ 31,713   $ 27,815   $ 34,064  $ 33,574
                                             ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------  ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------
Gross profit                                    35,355     32,070     30,007     26,160      24,170     21,757     24,451    23,723
Research and development                        10,705      9,739      7,820      6,016       6,395      5,136      5,309     6,040
In process research and development                  -          -     39,176          -           -          -          -         -
Marketing, general and administrative            7,649      7,549      7,435      6,122       5,013      5,735      6,614     6,301
Impairment of intangible assets                      -      4,311          -          -           -          -          -         -
Restructuring and other charges                      -          -          -          -      (1,383)         -          -         -
                                             ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------  ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------
Income (loss) from operations                   17,001     10,471    (24,424)    14,022      14,145     10,886     12,528    11,382
                                             ========== ========== ========== ==========  ========== ========== ========== =========
Net income (loss)                             $ 11,381   $  5,405   $(29,313)  $  9,649    $  9,556   $  7,291   $  8,931  $  8,480
                                             ========== ========== ========== ==========  ========== ========== ========== =========
                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                 
Basic net income (loss) per share             $   0.35   $   0.17   $  (0.92)  $   0.31    $   0.30   $   0.23   $   0.29  $   0.28
Common shares outstanding (3)                   32,460     32,193     31,829     31,524      31,334     31,146     30,918    30,774
                                                                                                                 
Diluted net income (loss) per share           $   0.33   $   0.16   $  (0.92)  $   0.29    $   0.29   $   0.22   $   0.28  $   0.27
Common shares outstanding assuming dilution     34,876     34,394     31,829     33,701      33,111     33,188     32,374    31,895
                                                                                                                
                                                                                          
                            As a Percentage of Net Revenues (Unaudited)

                                                  Year Ended December 31, 1998 (1)            Year Ended December 31, 1997 (2)
                                              ------------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------
                                                 Fourth     Third      Second     First       Fourth     Third      Second     First
                                                                   
Net revenues                                      100%       100%       100%       100%        100%       100%       100%      100%
Gross profit                                       78%        76%        75%        76%         76%        78%        72%       71%
Research and development                           24%        23%        20%        18%         20%        18%        16%       18%
In process research and development                  -          -        98%          -           -          -          -         -
Marketing, general and administrative              17%        18%        19%        18%         16%        21%        19%       19%
Impairment of intangible assets                      -        10%          -          -           -          -          -         -
Restructuring and other charges                      -          -          -          -         (4%)         -          -         -
Income (loss) from operations                      37%        25%       (61%)       41%         45%        39%        37%       34%
Net income (loss)                                  25%        13%       (73%)       28%         30%        26%        26%       25%
                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                  


<FN>
(1)  Results for the year ended December 31, 1998 include an in process research
     and  development   charge  of  $39.2  million  related   primarily  to  the
     acquisition of Integrated  Telecom  Technology and a  charge for impairment
     of intangible assets of $4.3 million.
     See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.
(2)  Results for the year ended December 31, 1997 include a restructuring charge
     recovery  of  $1.4  million  from  the  reversal  of  the  excess   accrued
     restructure  charge from the conclusion of the  restructuring in the fourth
     quarter.
(3)  PMC-Sierra,  Ltd.  Special Shares are included in the  calculation of basic
     net income (loss) per share.
</FN>
</TABLE>


<PAGE>


ITEM 7. Management's  Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations.

Description of  Forward-looking  Statements.  This portion of this Annual Report
contains forward-looking statements relating to:

o   revenues,                            o   capital resources sufficiency; and
o   gross margins,                       o   market risk.
o   expenditures on research and
    development, selling and
    administration;

Actual results may differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements
for a number of  reasons,  including  those  described  in  "Factors  You Should
Consider Before Investing in PMC-Sierra." We present  projected  project revenue
estimates in the "In Process Research and Development" section of Item 7 of this
report.  These estimates were made solely for the purposes of accounting for the
acquisition of Integrated  Telecom Technology Inc. (see below) and should not be
construed as a projection of expected future  performance of products  resulting
from these projects.

General. We design, develop, market and support  high-performance  semiconductor
solutions for advanced  telecommunications  and data  communications  networking
markets.  Our  products  are  silicon  based  and  are  used  in  the  broadband
communications  infrastructure  and high  bandwidth  networks.  We  supply  ATM,
SONET/SDH, T1/E1, D3/E3 and ethernet semiconductors.

In the second  quarter  of 1998,  we  expanded  our  portfolio  of ATM layer and
switching products by acquiring  Integrated Telecom Technology Inc. ("IGT"). IGT
was a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Gaithersburg,  MD. IGT also
had a development site in San Jose, CA. IGT made ATM switching chipsets for wide
area network applications as well as ATM  Segmentation-and-Reassembly  and other
telecommunication chips.

The total  consideration  of $55.0 million paid to acquire IGT consisted of cash
paid to IGT  shareholders  of $17.8 million,  cash paid to IGT creditors of $9.0
million,  and the issuance of  approximately  415,000 shares of common stock and
options to purchase approximately 214,000 shares of common stock.

The purchase price also included  $850,000 in professional fees and other direct
acquisition  costs.  As part of the purchase,  we acquired $0.5 million cash and
4.1 million of other tangible assets,  and assumed IGT's current  liabilities of
$3.1  million and  interest-bearing  capital  lease  obligations  valued at $1.6
million (see note 2 of the Consolidated Financial Statements).

Subsequent  to issuing our  Quarterly  Report on Form 10-Q for the period  ended
June 28, 1998,  the  Securities  and Exchange  Commission  ("SEC")  released new
information  to the market  regarding  acceptable  methodologies  for valuing in
process research and development ("IPR&D") in purchase transactions. In light of
this new information,  we revalued certain  identifiable assets acquired through
the IGT acquisition.
<PAGE>

Our initial valuation of the IGT IPR&D was done using a methodology that focused
on the aggregate after-tax cash flows attributable to the purchased  technology.
Using the SEC's guidelines,  we subsequently  considered the stage of completion
of individual  projects and the risk  associated with the stage of completion of
the technology. As a result of these additional considerations,  we restated our
financial  statements  for the six month  periods ended June 28, 1998 to reflect
the  revaluation  of assets  acquired  and to record  the  revised  amounts  for
intangible assets, goodwill, and IPR&D (See Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements).

We also restated our  financial  statements  for the period ended  September 27,
1998, to reflect the impairment of a portion of the restated  intangible  assets
recognized in connection with the IGT acquisition.  During the third quarter, we
terminated  development work on a project.  We determined that the developed and
core technology related to this project was not technologically feasible and had
no alternative future use. As a result, we restated  goodwill,  core technology,
and  related  amortization  from  amounts  initially  reported  and  recorded an
impairment of intangible assets of $4.3 million.

In August 1996,  we announced our decision to exit the personal  computer  modem
chipset business, restructure our other non-networking products and focus on our
networking  products.  In 1996,  we  recorded  a  charge  of  $69.4  million  in
connection  with  this  decision.  We  completed  all  material  aspects  of the
restructuring  by the end of 1997.  At that time, we recorded a recovery of $1.4
million from the reversal of the excess accrued  restructure  charge (See note 9
to Consolidated Financial Statements).

Also in 1996, we acquired ethernet switching assets,  intellectual  property and
certain other assets from Bipolar  Integrated  Technology  ("BIT").  We acquired
these  assets  in  exchange  for  804,407  shares  of  common  stock  and  other
consideration.  The aggregate value of this transaction was  approximately  $8.1
million including the acquisition costs we incurred.


Results of Operations

Net Revenues ($000,000)
- -----------------------

                               1998     Change       1997    Change      1996
                               ----     ------       ----    ------      ----

   Networking products        $ 139.5     63%      $  85.5     36%     $  62.8
   Non-networking - other     $  22.3    (38%)     $  35.8    (46%)    $  66.6
   Non-networking - modem           -   (100%)     $   5.9    (90%)    $  59.0
                            ----------          -----------          ----------
   Total net revenues         $ 161.8     27%      $ 127.2    (32%)    $ 188.4
                            ==========          ===========          ==========


Net revenues  increased 27% in 1998 as the growth in networking  product revenue
exceeded the  reduction of revenues  from  non-networking  products.  Networking
product  revenue grew 63% in 1998 and 36% in 1997 as a result of a strong market
for our  customers'  broadband  equipment  due to the growth of the Internet and
data  communications in general,  the move of many equipment  manufacturers from
custom integrated circuits to application specific standard products and revenue
from products acquired in connection with the IGT acquisition.
<PAGE>

Non-networking  - other  revenues,  which  include  custom,  graphic,  and other
semiconductor  revenues,  declined 38% in 1998 compared to 1997 and declined 46%
in 1997 compared to 1996.  This reflects our strategic  decision to  restructure
our  other  non-networking  business  and to focus on  networking  semiconductor
business. We are supporting  non-networking products for existing customers, but
have  decided not to develop any  further  products of this type.  We expect the
non-networking revenues to continue to decline rapidly in 1999.

Consistent with our 1996 restructuring, we exited the modem chipset business and
sold all our modem chipset  inventories in 1997. No future revenues are expected
from that business.

Gross Profit ($000,000)
- -----------------------

                                         1998   Change    1997   Change   1996
                                         ----   ------    ----   ------   ----

Networking products                    $ 113.1    63%    $ 69.5    48%    $ 46.4
Percentage of networking revenues         81%              81%              74%

Non-networking products                $  10.5   (57%)   $ 24.6   (46%)   $ 47.0
Percentage of non-networking reveunes     47%              59%              37%

Total gross profit                     $ 123.6    31%    $ 94.1     1%    $ 93.4
Percentage of net revenues                76%              74%               50%


Total gross  profit  increased  from 1997 to 1998 and from 1996 to 1997  because
increased sales of higher gross margin  networking  products offset a decline in
gross profit due to lower revenues from  non-networking  products.  In addition,
lower wafer costs increased gross profit in 1997 relative to 1996.

Networking  gross profit in 1998,  as a percentage of revenues,  was  consistent
with 1997.  The gross  margins of these  products  were high relative to overall
gross margins in the semiconductor industry because our chips are highly complex
and are sold in relatively low volumes. In fact, in 1998, none of our networking
products accounted for more than 10% of networking  revenue. We believe that, as
the market for our networking  products grows and customers  purchase in greater
volumes, gross profit as a percentage of revenues will decline.

We expect  networking gross margins to decline if reductions in production costs
do not  sufficiently  offset  decreases  in average  selling  prices of existing
networking  products,  or increases in gross  profit  contributed  by new higher
gross margin networking products do not sufficiently offset decreases in average
selling prices of existing networking products.

Non-networking  gross  profit  decreased  by  57%  in  1998  compared  to  1997.
Non-networking  gross profit as a percentage of sales  declined from 59% in 1997
to 47% in 1998. In 1999, we expect gross profit from non-networking  products to
decrease in total  dollars and as a percentage  of sales.  The  continuation  of
non-networking  gross profit decline results from our decision to exit the modem
chipset business and restructure our other non-networking business.

Non-networking  product  gross  profit  was  higher in 1997 than 1996 due to the
sales  related  to our modem  chipset  inventories.  In 1996,  our  reserve  for
write-down of the modem chipset inventory to market included both completion and
disposal  costs.  The  higher  amount of gross  profit  recognized  during  1997
represents the reduction in the reserve for  write-down to the extent  necessary
to cover the relatively higher period expenses incurred relating to the disposal
effort.  There was no overall  operating  profit from the sale of modem  chipset
products in 1997.


<PAGE>


Other Costs and Expenses ($000,000)
- -----------------------------------

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                1998       Change      1997       Change     1996
                                                ----       ------      ----       ------     ----
                                                                                          
<S>                                            <C>          <C>       <C>          <C>      <C>   
Research and development                       $ 34.3       50%       $ 22.9       (22%)    $ 29.4
Percentage of net revenues                        21%                    18%                   16%
                                                                                          
Marketing, general & administrative            $ 28.8       22%       $ 23.7       (23%)    $ 30.7
Percentage of net revenues                        18%                    19%                   16%
                                                                                          
In process research & development acquired     $ 39.2         -            -          -     $  7.8
Percentage of net revenues                        24%                      -                    4%
                                                                                          
Impairment of intangible assets                $  4.3         -            -          -          -
Percentage of net revenues                         3%                      -                     -
                                                                                          
Restructure and other costs                         -         -       $ (1.4)         -     $ 64.7
Percentage of net revenues                          -                    (1%)                  34%
                                                                            
</TABLE>

Research and Development and Marketing, General and Administrative Expenses.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In 1998,  research and development ("R&D") expenses increased by 50% overall, to
21% of total revenue. Substantially all R&D activity carried out in 1998 related
to networking products.

Our increased R&D spending is a response to the array of opportunities presented
by the growth of the Internet,  data networking and the convergence of voice and
data communications.  We incur R&D expenditures in order to attain technological
leadership  from a  multi-year  perspective.  This has  caused R&D  spending  to
fluctuate  from quarter to quarter.  We expect such  fluctuations,  particularly
when measured as a percentage of net revenues, to occur in the future, primarily
due to the timing of expenditures  and changes in the level of net revenues.  In
the future, we expect R&D expenses to increase and relate entirely to networking
products.

R&D expenditures decreased in 1997 compared to 1996 because we discontinued work
on non-networking products. This was partially offset by an increase in spending
on  networking  products.  For all  periods  presented,  R&D  expenditures  as a
percentage  of  net  revenue  were  higher  for  networking  products  than  for
non-networking products.

In 1998, we increased total marketing,  general and administrative  expenses but
decreased  the  expenses as a  percentage  of total  revenue.  From a short term
perspective,  many  marketing,  general and  administrative  expenses are fixed.
Therefore,  during  periods  of rising  revenues,  these  expenses  decline as a
percentage  of  revenues.  The  opposite  holds  true in  periods  of  declining
revenues.  We expect  marketing,  general and  administrative  costs to increase
during 1999 and beyond.

Marketing, general and administrative expenses declined in 1997 primarily due to
the reduction in expenses and personnel resulting from the 1996 restructuring of
the non-networking operations. The increase in these expenses as a percentage of
net sales reflects  increased  spending on networking  products and a decline in
total net revenues.

<PAGE>


In Process Research and Development ("IPR&D").
- ----------------------------------------------

IPR&D expenses of $39.2 million include $37.8 million related to the acquisition
of IGT and $1.4 million related to the  acquisition of technology  which had not
reached technological feasibility and had no alternative future use.

In our allocation of the IGT acquisition  purchase price to IPR&D, we considered
the following for each in process project at the time of the acquisition:

   (1)   the present value of forecasted cash flows and income that were
         expected to result from the projects;
   (2)   the status of projects;
   (3)   completion costs;
   (4)   project risks;
   (5)   the value of core technology; and
   (6)   the stage of completion of the individual project.

In valuing the core technology, we ensured that the relative allocations to core
technology and IPR&D were consistent with the relative contributions of each. In
the determination of the value of IPR&D, we ensured that the value of IPR&D only
considered efforts completed as of the date IGT was acquired.

The amount allocated to IPR&D of $37.8 million was expensed upon acquisition, as
it was  determined  that the underlying  projects had not reached  technological
feasibility,  had no  alternative  future  use and  successful  development  was
uncertain.

As of the acquisition  date, IGT had three development  projects in process.  In
order to develop these projects into  commercially  viable  products,  we had to
complete all planning,  designing and testing activities  necessary to establish
that the products could be produced to meet their design requirements.

The calculations of value assigned to the IPR&D reflect the efforts of IGT prior
to the close of the acquisition. The estimated completion percentage,  estimated
technology  life  and  projected  introduction  date  of the  three  development
projects as of the acquisition date were as follows:

                     Percent       Technology       Introduction
  Project          Completed          Life              Date

Project A              78%           5 years            1999
Project B              83%           5 years            1999
Project C              65%           6 years            1998

Project A relates to the development of an ATM switching system.  Projects B and
C relate to the segmentation and reassembly ("SAR") of data in an ATM network.

A brief  description  of the  valuation of each in process  project is set forth
below:



<PAGE>


Revenue
- -------

We used  discounted  cash flow  analysis  on the  anticipated  income  stream of
related  product  sales  to  compute  the  value  of each  acquired  in  process
technology.  We determined the value assigned to purchased in process technology
by  estimating  the costs to develop the  purchased in process  technology  into
commercially  viable products,  estimating the resulting net cash flows from the
projects and discounting the net cash flows to their present value. We based the
revenue  projection  on estimates of relevant  market sizes and growth  factors,
expected  trends in technology and the nature and expected timing of our and our
competitors' new product introductions. These estimates were made solely for the
purposes of accounting for the IgT  acquisition and should not be construed as a
projection  of expected  future  performance  of products  resulting  from these
projects.

We estimated that these in process  projects would begin  generating  revenue in
1999. We estimated  that revenues  would  generate  revenue for 5 to 6 years and
then decline sharply as we expect that other new products and technologies would
enter the market.

Cost to Complete
- ----------------

We estimated  that total  research and  development  costs to complete the three
projects would amount to $1.4 million over a twelve-month period.

Expenses
- --------

We included  selling,  general and  administrative  expenses  and  research  and
development  expenses  in  our  operating  expense  estimates.  We  based  these
estimates on historical  results and  anticipated  cost savings.  Due to general
economies of scale, improved infrastructure,  and greater management breadth, we
expected  operating  expense as a percentage  of revenues to decrease  after the
acquisition.

We  estimated  cost of sales,  expressed  as a  percentage  of revenue,  for the
developed and in process  technologies to be 29% increasing to 33% for all three
projects.

We  estimated  selling,  general and  administrative  expenses,  expressed  as a
percentage of revenue for the developed  and in process  technologies,  would be
14% in 1999 and would decrease to 10% by 2003.

Research  and  development   expenses  consist  of  the  costs  associated  with
activities  undertaken to develop new versions and to correct  errors or to keep
products updated with current information. We estimated R&D expense would be 15%
of revenues in 1999 and would decline to 7% of revenues by 2003.

We used an effective income tax rate of 40% throughout the valuation period. The
40% reflects our estimated combined federal and state statutory income tax rate,
exclusive of nonrecurring charges, and our estimated future income tax provision
rate.
<PAGE>

In valuing the IPR&D, we used the following discount rates:

Project A                  28%
Project B                  28%
Project C                  29%

We considered the weighted average cost of capital when selecting an appropriate
discount  rate.  To determine  this,  we used a capital  asset pricing model and
reviewed  venture capital rates of return.  The discount rate we used for the in
process  technology was higher than our weighted  average cost of capital due to
the  risk  of  realizing  cash  flows  from  products  that  had  yet  to  reach
technological feasibility as of the valuation date.

Allocation of Value
- -------------------

We allocated the fair market values of the assets acquired from IGT as follows:

                      Asset                        Fair Market Value

Intellectual Property:
  In Process Research and Development

    Project A                                          $ 17,032
    Project B                                            14,155
    Project C                                             6,570
                                                      ---------
                                                       $ 37,757
                                                      =========

Developed and Core Technology                          $  7,830

Assembled Workforce                                    $  1,053

Goodwill                                               $  9,284


Comparison to Actual Results
- ----------------------------

We  believed  that the  assumptions  we used in the  valuation  of the  acquired
intangible IGT assets were reasonable at the time of the  acquisition.  However,
we had no assurance that the underlying  assumptions  used to estimate  expected
project sales, development costs or profitability, or the events associated with
such projects, would transpire as estimated.

Project A development was completed,  and prototypes were in production,  on the
date we filed this Annual Report.  We completed  development of Project B in the
fourth quarter of 1998. We were in full  production as of the date we filed this
Annual  Report.  This was  consistent  with our  initial  estimates  used in the
valuation  of the project.  We  terminated  development  on Project C during the
third quarter (see `Impairment of Intangible Assets') of 1998.

If Project A does not reach full  production,  or if the products from Project A
or B are not  accepted by the market,  then there will be a loss of the expected
return  inherent  in the fair value  allocation  and the  associated  intangible
assets  would be  impaired.  This may require us to shorten the time period over
which the related  assets  would be  amortized,  which may impact our  operating
results materially and adversely.


<PAGE>

IPR&D incurred in 1996 relate to the  acquisition of the ethernet  switching and
other assets from BIT (see Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements).

Impairment of Intangible Assets.  
- --------------------------------  

During  the third  quarter of 1998,  we  abandoned  a  development  project.  We
determined  that a portion  of the  restated  intangible  assets  recognized  in
connection with the IGT acquisition was impaired.

The  terminated  project  related to ongoing  development  of a SAR chip used to
convert data packets to asynchronous  transfer mode data cells (refer to Project
C in "In Process  Research and Development"  above).  The few customers who were
using  a  predecessor  chip  were  notified  of the  termination  of all  future
development  of this  technology.  The  technology  was  specialized  and has no
alternative future use.

Restructure and Other Costs.
- ----------------------------

In 1996, we recorded a charge of $69.4  million in connection  with our decision
to exit from the modem chipset  business and  restructure  other  non-networking
product operations.  All material aspects of the restructuring were completed by
the end of 1997.  At that time,  we recorded a recovery of $1.4 million from the
reversal of the excess accrued  restructure  charge. (See Note 9 to Consolidated
Financial Statements).

Interest Income, Net ($000,000)
- -------------------------------

                                1998     Change     1997     Change     1996   
                                ----     ------     ----     ------     ----   
                                                                      
Interest income, net            $2.9      190%      $1.0       54%      $0.7   
Percentage of net revenues      1.8%                0.8%                0.4%   
                                                                    

Interest  income  increased in 1998,  1997 and 1996 due to higher cash  balances
available to invest and earn interest. Interest expense decreased in 1998 due to
the  retirement  of debt  associated  with capital  leases.  This  reduction was
partially  offset by additional  interest  expense  related to the assumption of
capital leases in our acquisition of IGT.

Provision for Income Taxes.
- ---------------------------

Our 1998 and 1997 income tax  provision  primarily  reflects the  provision  for
income taxes for the Canadian subsidiary.  Our U.S. taxes for 1998 and 1997 were
largely  eliminated by tax losses realized from our 1996  restructuring  charge.
The $39.2  million  charge for IPR&D and the related $4.3 million  impairment of
intangible  assets taken in 1998 are  non-deductible  and will not result in any
future tax benefits.

The 1996 income tax rate reflects taxes on our foreign operations and the effect
of a  non-deductible  $7.8 million  charge for the purchase of IPR&D relating to
the BIT acquisition.  We used net operating losses and tax credit carry forwards
to reduce the 1996 U.S. tax  provision.  We did not recognize a tax benefit from
the 1996  restructure  charge of $69.4  million  because of the  uncertainty  of
future taxable income in the United States.

Recently issued accounting standards.
- -------------------------------------

In June 1998,  the FASB  issued  Statement  of  Accounting  Standards  No.  133,
Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities. We expect to adopt
the new Statement  effective  January 1, 2000.  The  Statement  will require the
recognition of all derivatives on our consolidated  balance sheet at fair value.
We anticipate  that the adoption of this  Statement  will not have a significant
effect on our operating results or financial position.
<PAGE>

Liquidity and Capital Resources.
- --------------------------------

Cash and cash  equivalents  and short  term  investments  increased  from  $69.2
million  at the end of 1997 to $84.8  million at the end of 1998.  During  1998,
operating  activities  provided  $59.3  million  in  cash.  The net loss of $2.9
million in 1998 includes  non-cash  charges of $14.2 million in depreciation and
amortization, a $39.2 million charge for in process research and development and
a $4.3 million charge for impairment of intangible assets.

During  1998,  our  investing  activities  included  $27.2  million  of net cash
consumed in the  acquisition  of IGT and $21.5 million in purchases of new plant
and equipment.  We also used cash to increase short-term investments by a net of
$9.6  million  and  to  repay  $5.2  million  of  our  debt  and  capital  lease
obligations.  Proceeds from the issuance of common stock,  principally under our
stock option and purchase plans, totaled $7.6 million.

As at December 31, 1998,  our principal  sources of liquidity  included cash and
cash  equivalents  and short-term  investments  of $84.8 million.  In the second
quarter of 1998,  we entered  into a new line of credit  agreement  with a bank.
This  agreement  allows  us to  borrow up to $15  million.  We  cannot  pay cash
dividends,  or make material  divestments,  without the prior written consent of
the bank. There were no amounts  outstanding under the line of credit at the end
of either 1997 or 1998.

We  have  supply   agreements  with  two   independent   foundries  that  supply
substantially  all of the  wafers for our  products.  We have made  deposits  to
secure access to wafer fabrication capacity under these agreements.  At December
31, 1998 and 1997,  we had $23.1 and $27.1  million,  respectively,  in deposits
with those  foundries  and we were in  compliance  with our foundry  agreements.
There are no  minimum  unit  volume  requirements  in these  agreements.  We are
obliged  under one of the  agreements  to purchase a minimum  percentage  of our
total annual wafer requirements provided that the foundry is able to continue to
offer competitive technology,  pricing, quality and delivery. The agreements may
be terminated if either party does not comply with the terms.

We  purchased  $18.3  million in wafers from our foundry  suppliers  during 1998
compared to $13.2  million in 1997.  Those  amounts may not be indicative of any
future period since wafer prices and our volume requirements may change.

In each  year,  we are  entitled  to  receive  a refund  of a  portion  of these
deposits.  The amount to be received is based on the annual purchases from those
foundries  compared  to the  target  levels  in the  agreements.  Based  on 1998
purchases,  we expect to receive a $4.0 million refund from one of the foundries
in the first  quarter of 1999. If we do not receive our deposits back during the
course of the  agreements,  then they will be  returned  to us at the end of the
agreement periods.

We  believe  that  existing  sources of  liquidity  and  anticipated  funds from
operations will satisfy our projected  working  capital and capital  expenditure
requirements  through the end of 1999. We expect to purchase or arrange  capital
leases for approximately $33.0 million of new capital  expenditures during 1999.
In 1998,  actual  capital  expenditures  totaled  $21.5  million.  No additional
deposits to secure foundry capacity are expected in 1999.

<PAGE>

FACTORS THAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE INVESTING IN PMC-SIERRA

Our  company is  subject  to a number of risks - some are normal to the  fabless
networking  semiconductor  industry,  some  are the  same or  similar  to  those
disclosed in previous SEC  filings,  and some may be present in the future.  You
should carefully  consider all of these risks and the other  information in this
report before investing. The fact that certain risks are endemic to the industry
does not lessen the significance of the risk.

As a result of these  risks,  our  business,  financial  condition  or operating
results could be  materially  adversely  affected.  This could cause the trading
price of our  common  stock  to  decline,  and you may lose  part or all of your
investment.


OUR OPERATING RESULTS FLUCTUATE 

Our  operating  results  have  fluctuated  in the past and may  fluctuate in the
future for any of the following reasons:

o  our product introduction timing;      o  our average selling prices change;

o  our customers' inventory levels       o  our customers are acquired or 
   fluctuate;                               divested;

o  demand for our and our customers'     o  a networking industry downturn;
   products changes;

o  our suppliers' product and capacity   o  we are unable to acquire wafer or
   availability changes;                    other manufacturing capacity;

o  our product manufacturing yields      o  our competitors produce new products
   change;                                  or technologies;

o  market acceptance or rejection of one o  our product and process development
   or more of our products;                 expenditures change; and

                                         o  our competitors change prices.



WE MAY BE LEFT WITH UNSALEABLE INVENTORY

We attempt to forecast  and maintain a level of  inventory  in  anticipation  of
demand for our products.  Anticipating demand is difficult because our customers
face volatile pricing and demand for their end-user networking equipment. If our
customers were to delay, cancel or otherwise change future ordering patterns, we
could be left with unwanted inventory.

WE ANTICIPATE LOWER MARGINS ON MATURE AND HIGH VOLUME PRODUCTS

Our gross and  operating  margins may change in the future as a result of any of
the following:

o   changes in average selling prices;

o   changes in production and wafer and other supply costs; and

o   changes in our product mix.


We expect the average selling prices of our products to decline as they mature.

Historically,  competition  in the  semiconductor  industry  has driven down the
average selling prices ("ASPs") of products.  If we price our products too high,
our customers may use a competitor's product or an in-house solution.  Thus, our
ASPs will generally fall with the industry norms. To maintain profit margins, we
must reduce our costs  sufficiently  to offset declines in ASPs, or successfully
sell  proportionately  more  new  products  with  higher  ASPs.  Yield  or other
production  problems,  or shortages  of supply may preclude us from  lowering or
maintaining  current  operating  costs.  Also,  competitive,  market  and  other
pressures may not allow us to increase our sales of our higher ASP products.

In addition,  we are entering into an ethernet market of the networking industry
characterized  by average  volumes  that are higher and gross  margins  that are
lower than the market in which we currently participate. To maintain our current
operating  margins,  we will have to sell higher  volumes of these chips than in
our traditional  markets.  If we sell these chips in low volumes,  our operating
margins may be adversely affected.

WE NEED TO SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOP AND INTRODUCE OUR NEW PRODUCTS

The success of our new products depends on a number of factors, including:

o  our definition of new products to meet customer requirements;
o  our completion of product development and introduction of new products to
   market in a timely manner;
o  our ability to judge product demand; 
o  competitive pricing and performance levels; and
o  suitable fabrication yields by our independent foundries.

Many of these factors are outside our control. We may not be able to effectively
accomplish those factors that are in our control.
<PAGE>

Some of our products adhere to specifications  developed by industry groups. For
example, in the second half of 1998, we introduced two packet-over-Sonet devices
based on specifications developed by an industry group. These specifications may
not reach sufficient  acceptance by the market to allow our products  commercial
success.

In September  1996, we entered into a new product  area. We acquired  in-process
research  and  development  and  developed   technology   relating  to  ethernet
switching.  It is  possible  that  ethernet  products  may  not be  sufficiently
accepted by the market to achieve commercial success.

In May 1998,  we acquired  in-process  research and  development  and  developed
technology  related to ATM segmentation and reassembly as well at ATM switching.
It is possible that these products may not achieve volumes  sufficient to assure
their commercial success.

WE OPERATE IN AN INDUSTRY SUBJECT TO RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

We sell  products to a market whose  characteristics  include  rapidly  evolving
industry  standards,  product  obsolescence,  and new  manufacturing  and design
technologies.  Our complex  semiconductors  require extensive design and testing
before prototypes can be manufactured.  They often need to be redesigned because
manufacturing  yields on prototypes are unacceptable or customers redefine their
products  to  meet  changing  industry  standards.  Many  of the  standards  and
protocols for our products are based on high speed networking  technologies that
have not been widely  adopted or ratified by one of the standard  setting bodies
in our  customers'  industry.  Our  customers  often delay or alter their design
demands during this standard-setting  process. In response, we must redesign our
products to suit these changing demands.  Redesign usually delays the production
of our products.  Our products may become obsolete due to these rapidly evolving
industry standards and customer preferences.

WE DEPEND ON THE ATM TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING MARKET

We focus a  significant  part of our business and research  expenditures  in the
Asynchronous Transfer Mode ("ATM")  telecommunications and networking market. As
a result of our 1996 restructuring,  revenues from non-networking  products have
declined  significantly  over the last several years,  making our results depend
primarily on ATM and related  products.  The percentage of net revenues to total
company  sales  derived from sales of ATM,  T1/E1,  DS3/E3 and  SONET/SDH  based
products amounted to 86% in 1998 compared to 67% in 1997.

The ATM  market  is in an early  stage of  deployment.  If the  industry  adopts
industry  standards  that  compete  with  ATM,  our ATM  products  could be made
unmarketable  or obsolete.  The market for ATM  equipment  has not  developed as
rapidly as  industry  observers  had  originally  predicted,  while  alternative
networking  technologies such as "packet-over-SONET" and "gigabit ethernet" have
developed to meet networking requirements.

WE FACE FIERCE COMPETITION

The markets for our  products  are  intensely  competitive  and subject to rapid
technological  change  and  price  erosion.  We  may  not  be  able  to  compete
successfully against current or future competitors.
<PAGE>

We believe that our ability to compete successfully in these markets depends on:

o   our product performance, quality and pricing;
o   our, our competitors' and our customers' timing and success of new product
    introductions;
o   our ability to innovate;
o   our ability to deliver working  products on schedule;
o   market  acceptance of standards for which we have produced products;
o   our ability to obtain adequate manufacturing capacity;
o   our subcontractors'  production efficiency;
o   the rate at which our customers incorporate our products into their designs;
    and
o   our and our competitors' assertion of intellectual property rights.

We typically face  competition  at the design stage,  where  customers  evaluate
alternative design approaches that require integrated circuits.  Our competitors
have  increasingly  frequent  opportunities  to  supplant  our  products in next
generation  systems  because of shortened  product life and design-in  cycles in
many of our customers' products.

Our competitors are major domestic and  international  semiconductor  companies,
many of which have substantially  greater financial and other resources than us.
Emerging  companies also provide  significant  competition in our segment of the
semiconductor   market.   Our  competitors   include   Advanced  Micro  Circuits
Corporation,   Broadcom,   Conexant  Systems,   Cypress  Semiconductor,   Dallas
Semiconductor,  Galileo  Technology,  Integrated  Device  Technology,  Level One
Communications,  Lucent Technologies,  Motorola,  MMC Networks,  Siemens,  Texas
Instruments,  Transwitch and Vitesse Semiconductor.  Over the next few years, we
expect additional competitors, some of which also may have greater financial and
other resources, to enter the market with new products.

WE MUST HAVE ACCESS TO WAFER  FABRICATION  AND OTHER  MANUFACTURING  CAPACITY TO
SUCCEED

We do not own or operate a wafer  fabrication  facility.  Two outside  foundries
supply all our  semiconductor  device  requirements.  Our foundry suppliers also
produce products for themselves and other  companies.  We may not have access to
adequate  capacity or certain  process  technologies.  We have less control over
delivery schedules,  manufacturing  yields and costs than competitors with their
own fabrication  facilities.  If the foundries we use are unable or unwilling to
manufacture  our  products in  required  volumes,  we may have to  identify  and
qualify  acceptable  additional or  alternative  foundries.  This  qualification
process  could  take six  months or longer.  We might not find  enough  capacity
quickly enough, if ever, to satisfy our production requirements.

Sub-assemblers in Asia assemble all of our semiconductor  products. Raw material
shortages, political and social instability, assembly house service disruptions,
currency  fluctuations,  or other  circumstances in the region could force us to
seek additional or alternative sources of supply or assembly. This could lead to
supply  constraints or product delivery delays which, in turn, may result in the
loss of  customers.  We have less  control  over  delivery  schedules,  assembly
processes,  quality  assurances and costs than competitors that do not outsource
these tasks.

OUR CUSTOMER BASE IS CONCENTRATED

We depend on a limited  number of customers for a major portion of our revenues.
Through direct,  distributor and subcontractor  purchases,  Lucent  Technologies
(including Ascend Communications) and Cisco Systems each accounted for more than
10% of our  fiscal  1998  revenues.  We do not have  long-term  volume  purchase
commitments  from any of our major  customers.  Our customers often shift buying
patterns as they manage inventory levels,  decide to use competing products,  or
change their orders for other  reasons.  If one or more customers were to delay,
reduce or cancel orders, our overall order levels may fluctuate greatly.
<PAGE>

OUR GLOBAL BUSINESS APPROACH SUBJECTS US TO ADDITIONAL RISKS

We are subject to a number of risks of conducting business outside of the United
States.
Historically, international sales accounted for the following percentages of our
net revenues:  32% in 1998, 30% in 1997 and 46% in 1996. We expect international
sales  will  continue  to  represent  a  significant  portion  of  our,  and our
customers' net revenues for the foreseeable future.

We are subject to these risks to a greater extent than most  companies  because,
in addition to selling our  products  in a number of  countries,  a  significant
portion of our research and development and  manufacturing are conducted outside
of the United  States.  The majority of our  development,  test,  marketing  and
administrative  functions occur in Canada and  substantially all of our products
are manufactured and assembled by independent third parties in Asia.

Our international sales,  research and development and manufacturing may subject
us to the following risks:

o  changes to, or impositions of, legislative or regulatory requirements and
   policy  changes  affecting  the  networking  market;
o  delays resulting from difficulty in obtaining export licenses for certain
   technology, tariffs, quotas, exchange rates and other trade barriers
   and restrictions;
o  foreign currency rate fluctuations because our development, test, marketing
   and  administrative  costs are  denominated  in Canadian  dollars,  and our
   selling costs are denominated in a variety of currencies;
o  greater difficulty in accounts receivable collection;
o  longer payment cycles;
o  taxes;
o  political, social and economic instability;
o  hostilities and changes in diplomatic and trade relationships; and
o  the burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws and communications
   standards.


<PAGE>


WE DEPEND ON KEY PERSONNEL

We must  retain  and hire key  technical  personnel  to be  successful.  This is
particularly  true with respect to those employees who are highly skilled at the
design and test  functions  used to develop high speed  networking  products and
related  software.  The  competition for such employees is intense and we do not
have  employment  agreements in place with these key personnel.  We issue common
stock options that are subject to vesting as employee incentives. These options,
however, are effective as retention incentives only if they have economic value.

OUR PRODUCTS EMPLOY PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY THAT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PROTECT

To compete effectively,  we must protect our proprietary information. We rely on
a  combination   of  patents,   trademarks,   copyrights,   trade  secret  laws,
confidentiality   procedures   and   licensing   arrangements   to  protect  our
intellectual  property  rights.  We hold  several  patents  and have a number of
pending patent applications.

We might not succeed in attaining patents from any of our pending  applications.
Even if we are awarded patents,  they may not provide any meaningful  protection
or  commercial  advantage  to us,  as they  may not be of  sufficient  scope  or
strength,  or may not be issued in all countries where our products can be sold.
In addition, our competitors may be able to design around our patents.

We develop,  manufacture and sell our products in Asian and other countries that
may not protect our products or intellectual  property rights to the same extent
as the laws of the  United  States.  This  makes  piracy of our  technology  and
products more likely.  Steps we take to protect our proprietary  information may
not be  adequate  to  prevent  theft  of our  technology.  We may not be able to
prevent our competitors  from  independently  developing  technologies  that are
similar to or better than ours.

OUR PRODUCTS EMPLOY PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY THAT MAY INFRINGE ON THE INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES

Vigorous  protection and pursuit of  intellectual  property  rights or positions
characterize  the  semiconductor  industry.  This often results in expensive and
lengthy litigation. We, as well as our customers or suppliers, may be accused of
infringing  on  patents or other  intellectual  property  rights  owned by third
parties.  This has  happened in the past.  An adverse  result in any  litigation
could force us to pay substantial damages, stop manufacturing, using and selling
the infringing products,  spend significant resources to develop  non-infringing
technology,  discontinue  using  certain  processes  or obtain  licenses  to the
infringing technology. In addition, we may not be able to develop non-infringing
technology,  nor might we be able to find  appropriate  licenses  on  reasonable
terms.

Patent  disputes  in  the  semiconductor  industry  are  often  settled  through
cross-licensing  arrangements.  Because we currently  do not have a  substantial
portfolio  of  patents,  we  may  not  be  able  to  settle  an  alleged  patent
infringement claim through a cross-licensing  arrangement. We are therefore more
exposed to third party claims than some of our competitors and customers. In the
past, our customers have been required to obtain licenses from and pay royalties
to  third  parties  for the  sale of  systems  incorporating  our  semiconductor
devices.  Until December of 1997, we indemnified  our customers up to the dollar
amount of their  purchases of our products  found to be infringing on technology
owned by third  parties.  Customers may also make claims against us with respect
to infringement.


<PAGE>

Furthermore,  we may initiate  claims or  litigation  against  third parties for
infringing  our  proprietary   rights  or  to  establish  the  validity  of  our
proprietary  rights.  This could  consume  significant  resources and divert the
efforts  of  our  technical  and   management   personnel,   regardless  of  the
litigation's outcome.

WE MAY BE INVOLVED IN ACQUISITIONS

We  may  acquire  products,  technologies  or  businesses  from  third  parties.
Management may be diverted from our operations while they identify and negotiate
these  acquisitions and integrate an acquired entity into our operations.  Also,
we may be forced to develop  expertise  outside  our  existing  businesses,  and
replace key  personnel who leave due to an  acquisition.  An  acquisition  could
absorb  substantial  cash  resources,   require  us  to  incur  or  assume  debt
obligations,  or issue additional equity. If we issue more equity, we may dilute
our common stock with securities that have a senior interest.

Acquired entities also may have unknown liabilities, and the combined entity may
not achieve the results that were anticipated at the time of the acquisition. An
acquisition  that is  accounted  for as a  purchase  could  involve  significant
one-time  write-offs,  and could  involve the  amortization  of goodwill  over a
number of years.  This was the accounting  method used to record our acquisition
of  a  networking  business  in  1994,  certain  assets  of  Bipolar  Integrated
Technology  in  September  1996,  and  the  acquisition  of  Integrated  Telecom
Technology in May 1998.

WE MAY NEED ADDITIONAL CAPITAL IN THE FUTURE

We must continue to make  significant  investments in research and  development,
capital  equipment  and  facilities  for  our  operations.  Our  future  capital
requirements will depend on many factors, including product development, working
capital investments, and acquisitions of businesses, products or technologies.

We may need to raise  additional  funds through public or private debt or equity
financing  to  fund  our  operations.  If  we  raise  funds  by  issuing  equity
securities, the percentage ownership of current stockholders will be reduced and
the new equity  securities may have priority rights to your  investment.  We may
not obtain sufficient  financing on terms we or you will find favorable.  We may
delay,  limit or eliminate  some or all of our proposed  operations  if adequate
funds are not available.

OUR STOCK PRICE HAS BEEN AND MAY CONTINUE TO BE VOLATILE

In the past,  our common stock price has fluctuated  substantially.  The reasons
this may continue include the following:

o  our or our competitors' new product announcements;
o  quarterly fluctuations in the financial results of our company and other
   companies in the semiconductor, networking or computer industries;
o  conditions in the networking or semiconductor industry; and
o  investor sentiment toward technology stocks.

In addition, increases in our stock price and expansion of our price-to-earnings
multiple  may have made our stock  attractive  to momentum  investors  who often
shift funds into and out of stocks rapidly,  exacerbating  price fluctuations in
either direction.

YEAR 2000 COMPUTER SYSTEMS ISSUES

The approach of the year 2000 presents  significant  issues for many  financial,
information,  and operational systems. Many systems in use today may not be able
to interpret dates after December 31, 1999  appropriately,  because such systems
allow only two digits to indicate the year in a date. As a result,  such systems
are unable to  distinguish  January 1, 2000,  from January 1, 1900,  which could
have adverse consequences on the operations of the entity.

Our State of Readiness

We have designated specific individuals to identify and resolve year 2000 issues
associated with our internal  information  technology (IT) systems, our internal
non-IT systems,  and material third party  relationships.  We have completed the
identification  of and are  implementing  our  plans to  address  our year  2000
issues.

We use commercially  available  standard software for our critical operating and
design  functions.  Our primary  software  vendors have provided program updates
that are intended to rectify the year 2000 issues related to their software.  We
upgraded all primary software by the second quarter of 1998. In addition, we are
currently  implementing  an  enterprise-wide  software  system  for  operational
reasons.  This system is scheduled to be fully  implemented  in 1999 and is year
2000 compliant.

We have secondary design and operating software that is not year 2000 compliant.
We have  identified  and  intend to install  or  develop  patches or  workaround
solutions for this software during 1999.

We use other technology,  such as semiconductor testers, which are not year 2000
compliant.   These  systems  do  not  interface  with  our  critical   operating
applications.  We have identified these systems and expect to conclude modifying
or replacing them in 1999.

The total cost of the software  upgrade for our primary  operating and financial
applications,  the cost to purchase and install our other non-critical software,
and the cost for the modification and replacement of our other technology is not
expected to be material.

Our Year 2000 Risk

Our greatest year 2000 exposure comes from our product manufacturing,  packaging
and delivery suppliers. Our worst case scenario would be if one or more critical
suppliers  fail to become  year 2000  compliant  and fail to develop  acceptable
workaround solutions.  The majority of our product manufacturing,  packaging and
delivery  is  outsourced  to two wafer  fabrication  companies,  three  assembly
companies and one shipping company, respectively.  These suppliers are generally
much larger than our  company  and we have little  influence  on their year 2000
preparedness  schedules.  While we have received written  communication from our
critical suppliers that they have developed an action plan to address their year
2000  issues,  we cannot be certain that these plans will be  implemented  or be
effective.
<PAGE>

If our suppliers are unable to manufacture our products as a result of year 2000
issues,  we may be  forced  to  find  and  qualify  other  year  2000  compliant
suppliers.  This  qualification  process could take six months or longer. We may
not  find  sufficient   capacity   quickly  enough  to  satisfy  our  production
requirements,   as  we  would  expect  that  the  many  other   companies   with
manufacturing models similar to ours would be vying for production capacity.

We are also exposed to customers who may not be year 2000  compliant.  If one or
more  of our  customers'  operations  is  interrupted  due to  year  2000  issue
non-compliance, our revenues from these customers could be materially impacted.

Our Contingency Plans

While we do not have a formal  contingency  plan, we are monitoring our critical
suppliers to ensure they complete  their year 2000 plans as scheduled.  We would
implement  a  formal  contingency  plan  should  any of our  critical  suppliers
indicate  that  there  would be any  delays  resulting  from their own year 2000
plans. Such a plan could entail contacting and qualifying other potentially year
2000 compliant suppliers and stocking  additional  inventory to cover short term
operating needs. We can not ensure that this contingency plan would be effective
or completed in a timely manner.


SPECIAL NOTE ON FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some statements in this report constitute  "forward looking  statements"  within
the  meaning  of the  federal  securities  laws.  Our  results,  performance  or
achievements  may be  materially  different  from those  expressed or implied by
these statements. Our forward looking statements include projections relating to
trends in markets,  long and short term  revenues and gross  margins.  They also
include  projections related to future expenditures on research and development,
marketing, general and administrative expense, new accounting pronouncements and
the year 2000 issue along with the impact of these  issues.  We may not, nor are
we obliged  to,  release  revisions  to  forward-looking  statements  to reflect
subsequent events.

<PAGE>


Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

The following  discussion  regarding  our risk  management  activities  contains
"forward-looking  statements"  that  involve  risks  and  uncertainties.  Actual
results  may differ  materially  from  those  projected  in the  forward-looking
statements.

We are exposed to foreign currency fluctuations through our operations in Canada
and  elsewhere.  In our effort to hedge this risk,  we  typically  forecast  our
operational  currency  needs,  purchase  such currency on the open market at the
beginning of an operational  period, and classify these funds as a hedge against
operations.  We usually  limit the  operational  period to less than 3 months to
avoid  undue  exposure  of  our  asset  position  to  further  foreign  currency
fluctuation.  While we expect to  utilize  this  method of hedging  our  foreign
currency risk in the future,  we may change our hedging  methodology and utilize
foreign  exchange  contracts  which are currently  available under our operating
line of credit agreement.

Occasionally, we may not be able to correctly forecast our operational needs. If
our  forecasts  are  overstated  or  understated   during  periods  of  currency
volatility,  we could experience  unanticipated currency gains or losses. At the
end of our  fiscal  years  1998 and 1997,  we did not have  significant  foreign
currency  denominated  net  asset  or  net  liability  positions,  and we had no
outstanding foreign exchange contracts.

We  maintain  investment  portfolio  holdings  of various  issuers,  types,  and
maturity  dates with  various  banks and  investment  banking  institutions.  We
regularly  hold  investments  beyond  120 days,  and the  market  value of these
investments on any day during the investment term may vary as a result of market
interest rate  fluctuations.  We do not hedge this exposure  because  short-term
fluctuations  in  interest  rates  would not likely  have a  material  impact on
interest  earnings.   We  classify  our  investments  as  available-for-sale  or
held-to-maturity  at the time of purchase and re-evaluate this designation as of
each balance sheet date. At the end of 1998 and 1997, all outstanding short-term
investments were classified as held-to-maturity  and recorded at amortized cost.
These  investments  were held until  maturity  in the first  quarter of 1999 and
1998, respectively.  In the future, we expect to continue holding our short-term
investments to maturity.


ITEM 8.   Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The chart  entitled  "Quarterly  Data  (Unaudited)"  contained in Item 6 Part II
hereof is hereby  incorporated  by reference into this Item 8 of Part II of this
Form 10-K.

<PAGE>


                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.

                   INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
                        AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES


Consolidated Financial Statements Included in Item 8:

                                                                            Page

Report of Deloitte & Touche LLP, Independent Auditors....................    -
Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors........................    -
Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 1998 and 1997................    -
Consolidated Statements of Operations for each of the three
    years in the period ended December 31, 1998..........................    -
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity for each 
    of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1998.............    -
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for each of the three 
    years in the period ended December 31, 1998..........................    -
                                                                             
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements...............................    -


Schedules  for each of the three  years in the period  ended  December  31, 1998
    included in Item 14 (d):

II  Valuation and Qualifying Accounts....................................    -
        

Schedules not listed above have been omitted  because they are not applicable or
are not  required,  or the  information  required  to be set  forth  therein  is
included in the financial statements or the notes thereto.





<PAGE>


              Report of Deloitte & Touche LLP, Independent Auditors

The Board of Directors and Stockholders of PMC-Sierra, Inc.


We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of PMC-Sierra,  Inc.
as of  December  31, 1998 and 1997 and the related  consolidated  statements  of
operations,  stockholders'  equity and cash flows for the years then ended.  Our
audit  also  included  the  financial  statement  schedule  for the years  ended
December 31, 1998 and 1997 listed in the index at Item 14(a). These consolidated
financial  statements  and  schedule  are the  responsibility  of the  Company's
management.  Our  responsibility  is to express  an  opinion on these  financial
statements and schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards
in the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain reasonable  assurance about whether the financial  statements are free
of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting  the amounts and  disclosures in the financial  statements.  An audit
also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates
made by  management,  as well as  evaluating  the  overall  financial  statement
presentation.  We believe  that our audits  provide a  reasonable  basis for our
opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated  financial statements referred to above present
fairly, in all material  respects,  the consolidated  financial  position of the
Company at December 31, 1998 and 1997, and the results of its operations and its
cash flows for the years then  ended,  in  conformity  with  generally  accepted
accounting  principles in the United States.  Also, in our opinion,  the related
financial  statement  schedule,   when  considered  in  relation  to  the  basic
consolidated  financial  statements  taken as a whole,  presents  fairly  in all
material respects the information set forth therein.




/S/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
Vancouver, British Columbia
January 21, 1999


<PAGE>


                Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

The Board of Directors and Shareholders
PMC-Sierra, Inc.(formerly Sierra Semiconductor Corporation)

We  have  audited  the  accompanying   consolidated  statements  of  operations,
shareholders'  equity,  and cash  flows of  PMC-Sierra,  Inc.  (formerly  Sierra
Semiconductor  Corporation) for the year ended December 31, 1996. Our audit also
included the  financial  statement  schedule  listed in the index at Item 14(a).
These financial  statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company's
management.  Our  responsibility  is to express  an  opinion on these  financial
statements and schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
Those standards  require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance   about  whether  the  financial   statements  are  free  of  material
misstatement.  An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.  An audit also includes
assessing the  accounting  principles  used and  significant  estimates  made by
management,  as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.
We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated  financial statements referred to above present
fairly,  in all material  respects,  the consolidated  results of operations and
cash flows of PMC-Sierra,  Inc. (formerly Sierra Semiconductor  Corporation) for
the year  ended  December  31,  1996,  in  conformity  with  generally  accepted
accounting  principles.  Also, in our opinion,  the related financial  statement
schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as
a whole,  presents  fairly in all material  respects the  information  set forth
therein.



/S/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP
San Jose, California
January 22, 1997


<PAGE>


<TABLE>
                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.
                           CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                                 (in thousands)
<CAPTION>

                                                                                            December 31,
                                                                                      ------------------------
                                                                                         1998          1997
<S>                                                                                    <C>          <C>      
ASSETS:
Current assets:
  Cash and cash equivalents                                                            $  33,943    $  27,906
  Short-term investments                                                                  50,893       41,334
  Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $1,128
    in 1998 and $1,070 in 1997                                                            26,227       15,103
  Short-term deposits for wafer fabrication capacity                                       4,000        4,000
  Inventories                                                                              3,617        3,199
  Prepaid expenses and other current assets                                                3,840        1,958
                                                                                      -----------  -----------
    Total current assets                                                                 122,520       93,500

Property and equipment, net                                                               31,595       19,699
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net of accumulated
  amortization of $6,455 ($3,668 in 1997)                                                 19,629        8,635
Investments and other assets                                                               4,434        4,424
Deposits for wafer fabrication capacity                                                   19,120       23,120
                                                                                      -----------  -----------
                                                                                       $ 197,298    $ 149,378
                                                                                      ===========  ===========

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Current liabilities:
  Accounts payable                                                                     $   8,964    $   7,421
  Accrued liabilities                                                                     14,618       11,653
  Deferred income                                                                         12,517        2,098
  Accrued income taxes                                                                    13,897        8,780
  Current portion of obligations under capital leases and long-term debt                   4,909        4,652
  Net liabilities of discontinued operations                                                   -          301
                                                                                      -----------  -----------
    Total current liabilities                                                             54,905       34,905

Deferred income taxes                                                                      2,851        4,023
Noncurrent obligations under capital leases and long-term debt                             5,223        9,092
Commitments and contingencies (Note 5)                                                         -            -
Special shares of a subsidiary convertible into common stock
  1,259 shares in 1998 (1,618 shares in 1997)                                              8,387       10,793

Stockholders' equity:
  Preferred stock, par value $0.001; 5,000 shares authorized, none outstanding                 -            -
  Common stock, par value $0.001; 100,000 shares authorized (50,000 shares in 1997);
    31,415 issued and outstanding in 1998 (29,750 in 1997)                                    31           30
  Additional paid in capital                                                             181,397      143,153
  Accumulated deficit                                                                    (55,496)     (52,618)
                                                                                      -----------  -----------
    Total stockholders' equity                                                           125,932       90,565
                                                                                      -----------  -----------
                                                                                       $ 197,298    $ 149,378
                                                                                      ===========  ===========

See notes to consolidated financial statements.
</TABLE>

<PAGE>


<TABLE>
                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                  (in thousands, except for per share amounts)

<CAPTION>

                                                                      Year Ended December 31,
                                                             -------------------------------------
                                                                 1998         1997         1996

<S>                                                           <C>          <C>          <C>      
Net revenues                                                  $ 161,812    $ 127,166    $ 188,371

Cost of revenues                                                 38,220       33,065       94,948
                                                             -----------  -----------  -----------
  Gross profit                                                  123,592       94,101       93,423

Other costs and expenses:
  Research and development                                       34,280       22,880       29,350
  Marketing, general and administrative                          28,755       23,663       30,691
  Acquisition of in process research and development             39,176            -        7,783
  Impairment of intangible assets                                 4,311            -            -
  Restructure and other costs                                         -       (1,383)      64,670
                                                             -----------  -----------  -----------
Income (loss) from operations                                    17,070       48,941      (39,071)
Interest income, net                                              2,923        1,044          679
                                                             -----------  -----------  -----------
Income (loss) before provision for income taxes                  19,993       49,985      (38,392)

Provision for income taxes                                       22,871       15,727        9,758
                                                             -----------  -----------  -----------

Net income (loss)                                             $  (2,878)   $  34,258    $ (48,150)
                                                             ===========  ===========  ===========

Basic net income (loss) per share:                            $   (0.09)      $ 1.10    $   (1.62)
                                                             ===========  ===========  ===========

Diluted net income (loss) per share:                          $   (0.09)   $    1.05    $   (1.62)
                                                             ===========  ===========  ===========

Number of shares used to calculate:
  Basic net income (loss) per share:                             32,002       31,043       29,719
  Diluted net income (loss) per share:                           32,002       32,642       29,719

See notes to consolidated financial statements.
</TABLE>


<PAGE>


<TABLE>
                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.
                 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
                                 (in thousands)
<CAPTION>

                                                                                 
                                                  Common Stock         Additional                 Stockholders'      Total
                                           ---------------------------   Paid in     Accumulated     Notes        Stockholders'
                                              Shares        Amount       Capital       Deficit     Receivable        Equity

<S>                                            <C>        <C>           <C>           <C>           <C>            <C>   
Balances at December 31, 1995                  26,603     $ 119,758     $       -     $ (38,726)    $      (32)    $    81,000
Issuance of common stock                                                                              
  under stock benefit plans                       604         3,072             -             -              -           3,072
Issuance of common stock to                                                                           
  capitalize PMC-Portland and                                                                         
  acquire assets of Bit, Inc.                     804         6,788             -             -              -           6,788
Adjustment to prior year common                                                                       
  stock issuance costs                              -            38             -             -              -              38
Conversion of special shares                                                                          
  into common stock                               636         3,036             -             -              -           3,036
Tax benefit of stock option                                                                           
  transactions                                      -         2,628             -             -              -           2,628
Payment of stockholders' notes                                                                        
  receivable                                        -             -             -             -             32              32
Net loss                                            -             -             -       (48,150)             -         (48,150)
                                           -----------  ------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------
Balances at December 31, 1996                  28,647       135,320             -       (86,876)             -          48,444
Conversion of special shares                                                                          
  into common stock                               784         1,701             -             -              -           1,701
Issuance of common stock                                                                              
  under stock benefit plans                       319         6,162             -             -              -           6,162
Reclassification on reincorporation                 -      (143,153)      143,153             -              -               -
Net income                                          -             -             -        34,258              -          34,258
                                           -----------  ------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------
Balances at December 31, 1997                  29,750            30       143,153       (52,618)             -          90,565
Conversion of special shares                                                                          
  into common stock                               359             -         2,406             -              -           2,406
Issuance of common stock                                                                              
  under stock benefit plans                       891             1         7,617             -              -           7,618
Issuance of common stock and                                                                          
  stock options to acquire Integrated                                                                 
  Telecom Technology, Inc.                        415             -        28,221             -              -          28,221
Net loss                                            -             -             -        (2,878)             -          (2,878)
                                           -----------  ------------  ------------  ------------  -------------  --------------
Balances at December 31, 1998                  31,415     $      31     $ 181,397     $ (55,496)    $        -     $   125,932
                                           ===========  ============  ============  ============  =============  ==============
                                                                                                      
                                                                                                      
                                                                                                          
See notes to consolidated financial statements.

</TABLE>



<PAGE>

<TABLE>

                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
                Increase (Decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
                                 (in thousands)
<CAPTION>
                                                                                       Year Ended December 31,
                                                                              ----------------------------------------
                                                                                   1998          1997          1996

<S>                                                                             <C>           <C>           <C>       
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)                                                               $  (2,878)    $  34,258     $ (48,150)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash
provided by operating activities:
  Depreciation and amortization                                                    14,179         9,150        10,922
  Acquisition of in process research and development                               39,176             -         7,783
  Impairment of intangible assets                                                   4,311             -             -
  Loss on disposal of equipment                                                         -           258             -
  Loss (recovery) related to restructure provision (note 9):
    Accounts receivable                                                                 -             -         5,047
    Inventories                                                                         -         1,371        23,000
    Prepaid expenses                                                                    -             -         1,061
    Impairment of long-lived assets                                                     -          (942)       16,425
    Impairment of goodwill of Holland operations                                        -             -         2,459
    Accruals for restructure related costs:
      Severance and related costs                                                       -           376         6,985
      Purchase commitments and other accruals                                           -        (2,340)        9,002
      Excess facilities costs                                                           -          (496)        3,411
      Costs for closure of European subsidiaries                                        -           648         1,980
  Changes in operating assets and liabilities
    Accounts receivable                                                            (9,861)       (1,196)       20,023
    Inventories                                                                       137         4,662       (17,389)
    Prepaid expenses and other                                                     (1,245)        1,146          (711)
    Accounts payable and accrued liabilities                                          236         1,552       (11,422)
    Accrued income taxes                                                            5,117         4,730        (3,687)
    Deferred income                                                                10,419         2,098             -
    Accrued restructuring costs                                                         -       (14,942)       (4,624)
    Net liabilities associated with discontinued operations                          (301)       (1,299)       (2,496)
                                                                              ------------  ------------  ------------
      Net cash provided by operating activities                                    59,290        39,034        19,619
                                                                              ------------  ------------  ------------

Cash flows from investing activities:
  Proceeds from sales and maturities of short-term investments                     43,442        24,877        15,984
  Purchases of short-term investments                                             (53,001)      (59,187)      (19,004)
  Proceeds from refund of wafer fabrication deposits                                4,000             -             -
  Investments in other companies                                                        -        (3,000)       (3,162)
  Purchase of Integrated Telecom Technology, Inc., net of cash acquired           (27,165)            -             -
  Purchase of other in process research and development                            (1,419)            -             -
  Purchase of Bit, Inc. assets, net of cash acquired                                    -             -            71
  Proceeds from sale of equipment and capacity assets                                   -         7,631             -
  Purchases of plant and equipment                                                (21,545)       (8,221)       (4,000)
                                                                              ------------  ------------  ------------
    Net cash used in investing activities                                         (55,688)      (37,900)      (10,111)
                                                                              ------------  ------------  ------------

Cash flows from financing activities:
  Proceeds from payment of notes receivable                                             -             -            32
  Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt                                              -             -           353
  Repayment of notes payable and long-term debt                                      (153)       (2,640)      (17,588)
  Proceeds from sale/leaseback of capital equipment                                     -         1,107             -
  Principal payments under capital lease obligations                               (5,030)      (12,895)       (2,310)
  Proceeds from issuance of common stock                                            7,618         6,162         3,110
                                                                              ------------  ------------  ------------
    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities                             2,435        (8,266)      (16,403)
                                                                              ------------  ------------  ------------

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents                                6,037        (7,132)       (6,895)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the year                                   27,906        35,038        41,933
                                                                              ------------  ------------  ------------
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the year                                      $  33,943     $  27,906     $  35,038
                                                                              ============  ============  ============

See notes to consolidated financial statements.
</TABLE>



<PAGE>

<TABLE>
                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
                                 (in thousands)
<CAPTION>

                                                                                         Year Ended December 31,
                                                                               --------------------------------------------
                                                                                     1998            1997           1996

<S>                                                                               <C>             <C>            <C>      
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
  Cash paid for interest                                                          $     958       $   1,954      $   1,278
  Cash paid for income taxes                                                         12,972           7,227         11,820

Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing and financing activities:
  Issuance of common stock and stock options
    to acquire Integrated Telecom Technology, Inc.                                   28,221               -              -
  Issuance of common stock and stock options
    to acquire assets of Bit, Inc.                                                        -               -          6,788
Capital lease obligations incurred for purchase of property and equipment                 -           3,536         16,145
Conversion of PMC special shares into common stock                                    2,406           1,701          3,036
Cancellation of short-term debt obligations incurred for
  wafer fabrication capacity                                                              -               -        (15,120)


See notes to consolidated financial statements.
</TABLE>


                                PMC-Sierra, Inc.
                   NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
                 Years Ended December 31, 1998, 1997, and 1996


NOTE 1.   Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis  of  presentation.  The  accompanying  consolidated  financial  statements
include the accounts of PMC-Sierra, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries ("the
Company" or "PMC"). All significant inter-company accounts and transactions have
been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. The Company's fiscal
year ends on the last Sunday of the  calendar  year.  For ease of  presentation,
December 31 has been utilized as the fiscal year end for all financial statement
captions.  Fiscal  years 1998,  1997 and 1996 each  consisted  of 52 weeks.  The
Company's reporting currency is the United States dollar.

Estimates.  The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally
accepted  accounting  principles  requires  management  to  make  estimates  and
assumptions  that affect reported amounts of assets,  liabilities,  revenues and
expense, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the dates and
for the  periods  presented.  Estimates  are used for,  but not  limited to, the
accounting for doubtful accounts, depreciation and amortization,  sales returns,
warranty costs,  taxes and  contingencies.  Actual results may differ from those
estimates.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.  Cash equivalents are defined
as highly  liquid  debt  instruments  with  original  maturities  at the date of
acquisition  of 90 days or less  that have  insignificant  interest  rate  risk.
Short-term  investments  are defined as money market  instruments  with original
maturities  greater than 90 days, but less than one year. The Company  maintains
its cash,  cash  equivalents  and short-term  investments  in various  financial
instruments  with  various  banks  and  investment  banking  institutions.   The
diversification  of risk is  consistent  with  Company  policy to  preserve  the
principal and maintain liquidity.

Under Financial Accounting Standards No. 115 "Accounting for Certain Investments
in Debt and Equity Securities" (SFAS 115), management classifies  investments as
available-for-sale  or held-to-maturity at the time of purchase and re-evaluates
such  designation  as of each  balance  sheet date.  Investments  classified  as
held-to-maturity  securities  are stated at  amortized  cost with  corresponding
premiums or discounts  amortized  against  interest  income over the life of the
investment.

Marketable  equity and debt  securities not classified as  held-to-maturity  are
classified as  available-for-sale  and reported at fair value.  Unrealized gains
and losses on these  investments are included in equity as a separate  component
of  stockholders'  equity.  The cost of securities sold is based on the specific
identification method.

As at December 31, 1998 and 1997, the Company's short-term  investment portfolio
consisted  solely of  held-to-maturity  investments and their carrying value was
substantially  the same as their market value.  Proceeds from sales and realized
gains  or  losses  on  sales  of  available-for-sale  securities  for all  years
presented were immaterial.

Inventories.  Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (first-in,  first out)
or market (estimated net realizable value).
<PAGE>

The components of inventories are as follows (in thousands)

                                         December 31,
                                   -------------------------
                                      1998          1997
        
        Work-in-progress              $ 1,761       $ 2,316
        Finished goods                  1,856           883
                                   -----------  ------------
                                      $ 3,617       $ 3,199
                                   ===========  ============


Property and  equipment,  net.  Depreciation  and  amortization  of property and
equipment are provided using the straight-line  method over the estimated useful
lives of the assets,  ranging from two to five years,  or the  applicable  lease
term,  whichever  is shorter.  The carrying  value of property and  equipment is
reviewed periodically for any permanent impairment in value.

The components of property and equipment are as follows (in thousands):

                                             December 31,
                                      --------------------------
                                        1998          1997
      
      Machinery and equipment           $  53,030     $  31,353
      Leasehold improvements                2,666         2,006
      Furniture and fixtures                2,555         1,666
                                      ------------  ------------
      Total cost                           58,251        35,025
      Accumulated depreciation            (26,656)      (15,326)
                                      ------------  ------------
                                        $  31,595     $  19,699
                                      ============  ============
 
Goodwill and other intangible assets.  Goodwill  associated with acquisitions is
being  amortized on a  straight-line  basis.  Developed and core  technology and
other  intangible  assets are being amortized on a straight-line  basis over the
economic lives of the respective  assets,  generally three to seven years. Among
other considerations,  to assess impairment,  the Company periodically estimates
undiscounted  future  cash flows to  determine  if they  exceed the  unamortized
balance of the related intangible asset.

The components of goodwill and other intangible  assets,  net are as follows (in
thousands):

                                                     December 31,
                                               ------------------------
                                                   1998         1997
      
      PMC-Sierra, Ltd.                            $ 6,665     $  8,372
      Bipolar Integrated Technology, Inc.             216          263
      Integrated Telecom Technology, Inc.          12,748            -
                                               -----------  -----------
                                                 $ 19,629     $  8,635
                                               ===========  ===========
<PAGE>

Deposits for wafer fabrication capacity. The Company has wafer supply agreements
with two  independent  foundries that together supply  substantially  all of the
Company's  products  and  include  deposits  made  to  secure  access  to  wafer
fabrication  capacity.  At December 31, 1998,  the Company had $23.1  million in
deposits  with  those  foundries.  Although  there are no  minimum  unit  volume
requirements  under the  agreements,  the Company is obligated  under one of the
agreements  to  purchase  in future  periods a minimum  percentage  of its total
annual  wafer  requirements,  provided  that the  foundry is able to continue to
offer  competitive  technology,  pricing,  quality  and  delivery.  The  Company
purchased $18.3 million from its foundry suppliers during 1998 compared to $13.2
million under  agreements in existence in 1997.  Those amounts may or may not be
indicative  of any future  period  since wafers are  purchased  based on current
market pricing and the Company's volume requirements change in relation to sales
of its products.

In each year,  the  Company  is  entitled  to receive a portion of the  deposits
provided to the foundries based on the annual  purchases from those foundries as
compared to the target levels in the agreements.  Based on 1998  purchases,  the
Company is entitled to receive a $4.0 million  refund from one of the  foundries
in the first quarter of 1999. If the Company does not receive the balance of its
deposits  back during the course of the  agreements,  then the deposits  will be
returned to the Company at the termination of the agreements.

Accrued  liabilities.  The components of accrued  liabilities are as follows (in
thousands):

                                                   December 31,
                                            --------------------------
                                                 1998          1997
    
    Accrued compensation and benefits         $   5,482     $   4,590
    Accrued royalties                               175           521
    Other accrued liabilities                     8,961         6,542
                                            ------------  ------------
                                              $  14,618     $  11,653
                                            ============  ============

Foreign currency translation. For all foreign operations, the U.S. dollar is the
functional currency. Foreign currency assets and liabilities are remeasured into
U.S.  dollars using the year-end  exchange  rates.  Statements of operations are
remeasured  using the average  exchange rates during the year.  Gains and losses
from foreign currency remeasurement are included in interest income, net.

Concentration  of credit risk. The Company  believes that the  concentration  of
credit  risk  in its  trade  receivables  with  respect  to the  high-technology
industry is substantially  mitigated by the Company's credit evaluation process,
large  number  of  customers,   relatively  short  collection   terms,  and  the
geographical  dispersion  of  sales.  The  Company  generally  does not  require
collateral security for outstanding amounts.

Revenue recognition. Net revenues are stated net of provision for sales returns.
Revenues  from  product  sales direct to customers  and minor  distributors  are
recognized at the time of shipment.  A provision is made for  estimated  product
returns.  At  December  31,  1998 and 1997,  this  provision  was  approximately
$943,000 and $725,000, respectively.  Certain of the Company's product sales are
made to major  distributors  under agreements  allowing price protection  and/or
right of return on products unsold. Accordingly,  the Company defers recognition
of revenue on such sales until the products are sold by the distributors.
<PAGE>

Interest income,  net. The components of interest income, net are as follows (in
thousands):

                                      Year Ended December 31,
                               -------------------------------------
                                    1998         1997         1996
    
    Interest income              $  3,846     $  3,146     $  1,840
    Interest expense (*)             (958)      (1,949)      (1,278)
    Other                              35         (153)         117
                               -----------  -----------  -----------
                                 $  2,923     $  1,044     $    679
                               ===========  ===========  ===========

    * consists primarily of interest on long-term debt and capital leases.

Net income  (loss) per common  share.  The  Company  has  adopted  Statement  of
Financial Accounting Standards No.128,  "Earnings per Share" (SFAS 128) in 1998.
This statement  requires the  presentation  of both basic and diluted net income
per share.  Basic net income per share is computed  using the  weighted  average
number of shares  outstanding  during the period.  The PMC-Sierra  Ltd.  Special
Shares  have been  included  in the  calculation  of basic net income per share.
Diluted net income per share is computed  using the weighted  average  number of
common and dilutive  common  equivalent  shares  outstanding  during the period.
Dilutive  common  equivalent  shares consist of stock options and warrants.  The
Company has restated all prior period  per-share  data  presented as required by
SFAS No. 128.

Income Taxes. Income taxes are reported under Statement of Financial  Accounting
Standards No. 109 and,  accordingly,  deferred income taxes are recognized using
the asset and liability method,  whereby deferred tax assets and liabilities are
recognized for the future tax consequences  attributable to differences  between
the financial  statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and
their respective tax basis, and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards.

Stock  Compensation.   Statement  of  Financial  Accounting  Standards  No.  123
"Accounting  for  Stock-Based  Compensation,"  (SFAS 123) permits,  but does not
require,  companies to recognize  compensation  expense for stock-based employee
compensation  plans at fair value. The Company has chosen to continue to account
for  stock-based  compensation  using the intrinsic  value method  prescribed in
Accounting  Principles  Board  Opinion No. 25,  "Accounting  for Stock Issued to
Employees," and related interpretations.  Accordingly,  compensation expense for
stock  options  granted to employees  is measured as the excess,  if any, of the
quoted  market  price  of the  Company's  stock  at the  date  of the  grant  or
modification over the amount an employee must pay to acquire the stock.

As  prescribed  by SFAS 123,  Note 6 to the  Consolidated  Financial  Statements
contains a summary of the proforma effects to reported net income and net income
per  share for  1998,  1997 and  1996,  had the  Company  elected  to  recognize
compensation expense based on the fair value of the options granted at the grant
date.  The  effects  of  applying  SFAS  123  proforma  disclosures  may  not be
representative of the effects on reported net income for future years.

Segment reporting.  In June 1997, the Financial  Accounting Standards Board (the
FASB) issued Statement of Financial  Accounting  Standards No. 131,  Disclosures
about Segments of an Enterprise  and Related  Information  (SFAS 131).  SFAS 131
uses a management approach to report financial and descriptive information about
a  Company's  operating  segments.   Operating  segments  are  revenue-producing
components  of the  enterprise  for  which  separate  financial  information  is
produced  internally for the Company's  management.  Under this definition,  the
Company operated,  for all periods  presented,  in two segments:  networking and
non-networking products.

Comprehensive  income.  In June 1997,  the FASB issued  Statement  of  Financial
Accounting  Standards No. 130, Reporting  Comprehensive  Income (SFAS 130). SFAS
130 requires that total comprehensive  income and comprehensive income per share
be  disclosed  with  equal  prominence  as net  income and net income per share.
Comprehensive  income is defined as changes in stockholders' equity exclusive of
transactions  with  owners  such as capital  contributions  and  dividends.  The
Company adopted this Statement in 1998. The Company has no comprehensive  income
items, other than the net income in any of the years presented.

Recently issued accounting standards. In June 1998, the FASB issued Statement of
Accounting Standards No. 133, Accounting for Derivative  Instruments and Hedging
Activities.  The Company expects to adopt the new Statement effective January 1,
2000.  The Statement  will require the  recognition  of all  derivatives  on the
Company's consolidated balance sheet at fair value. The Company anticipates that
the adoption of this Statement will not have a significant effect on its results
of operations or financial position.

Reclassifications. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified in order to
conform with the 1998 presentation.


NOTE 2.  Acquisitions,  Divestitures  and  Investments  in Other  Companies  and
Technology

Acquisition of Integrated Telecom Technology, Inc.
- --------------------------------------------------

On May 20,  1998,  the Company  acquired  Integrated  Telecom  Technology,  Inc.
("IGT") in exchange for total  consideration of $55.0 million consisting of cash
paid to IGT  stockholders  of $17.8 million,  cash paid to IGT creditors of $9.0
million  and the  balance of $28.2  million  by the  issuance  of  approximately
415,000  shares of common  stock and options to purchase  approximately  214,000
shares of common  stock  (based on the market  value of PMC common  stock on the
issuance date). The purchase price includes  professional  fees and other direct
costs of the  acquisition  totaling  $850,000.  IGT was a fabless  semiconductor
company  headquartered in Gaithersburg,  MD with a development site in San Jose,
CA. IGT made Asynchronous  Transfer Mode (ATM) switching  chipsets for wide area
network  applications  as  well  as ATM  Segmentation-and-Reassembly  and  other
telecommunication  chips.  Upon consumation of the  transaction,  IGT was merged
with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

The  acquisition  was accounted for using the purchase  method of accounting and
the final allocation among tangible and intangible  assets and liabilities is as
follows:

   Tangible assets                                      $   4,598
   
   Intangible assets:
          Developed and core technology                     7,830
          Assembled workforce                               1,050
          Goodwill                                          9,284
   
   In process research and development ("IPR&D")           37,757
   
   Liabilities                                             (4,669)
                                                      ------------
   
                                                        $  55,850
                                                      ============


<PAGE>

The amount allocated to IPR&D of $37.8 million was expensed upon acquisition, as
it was  determined  that the underlying  projects had not reached  technological
feasibility,  had no  alternative  future  use and  successful  development  was
uncertain.

During the third quarter of 1998, the Company  determined  that a portion of the
intangible  assets  recognized  in  connection  with  the  IGT  acquisition  was
impaired. The developed and core technology related to one of the three projects
in process at the time of  acquisition  was  subsequently  determined  not to be
technologically  feasible and had no  alternative  future use. As a result,  the
Company  recognized  an  impairment  of $4.3  million in  intangible  assets and
related goodwill.

The operating  results of IGT have been included in the  consolidated  financial
statements  since the date of  acquisition.  The  following  table  presents the
unaudited pro forma results of operations for  informational  purposes  assuming
that the Company had acquired IGT at the beginning of the 1997 fiscal year. This
information may not necessarily be indicative of the future combined  results of
operations of the Company and IGT.

                                                     Year Ended December 31,
                                                -------------------------------
                                                        1998           1997
       (in thousands, except for per share amounts - unaudited)

       Net revenues                                  $ 166,121      $ 139,769
       
       Net income (loss) (see below)                 $  (6,766)     $  28,918
       
       Basic net income (loss) per share:            $   (0.21)     $    0.92
       
       Diluted net income (loss) per share:          $   (0.21)     $    0.87

The pro  forma  results  of  operations  give  effect  to  certain  adjustments,
including the  elimination  of interest  expense and  amortization  of purchased
intangibles and goodwill.  Included in the pro forma net loss for the year ended
December 31, 1998 is a $37.8 million charge for purchased IPR&D and $4.3 million
for impairment of intangible assets.

Other Technology
- ----------------

On May 1, 1998 a subsidiary of the Company acquired certain  technology for cash
consideration  of $1.4 million.  This  technology has not reached  technological
feasibility  and has no  alternative  future  use.  Accordingly,  this amount is
included in the in process  research and development  expensed in the year ended
December 31, 1998.



<PAGE>


Bipolar Integrated Technology, Inc. 
- ----------------------------------- 

During the third quarter of 1996,  the Company  acquired the ethernet  switching
assets,  intellectual  property,  and certain other assets of Bipolar Integrated
Technology,  Inc.  ("Bit") in exchange for shares of common stock of the Company
and  other   consideration.   The  aggregate  value  of  this   transaction  was
approximately  $8.1 million,  which includes  acquisition  costs incurred by the
Company.  The assets of Bit were acquired in exchange for 804,407  shares of PMC
common stock with a value of  approximately  $6.8  million  (based on the market
value on the issuance date of PMC common stock issued subject to restrictions on
transfer),  approximately  $0.5  million  of  net  liabilities  assumed  by  the
Company's  subsidiary,  the value of options  to  purchase  common  stock of the
Company, forgiveness of principal and interest on loans provided by the Company,
and cash. The acquisition  resulted in a $7.8 million charge for the purchase of
IPR&D. The remaining $0.3 million of technology  assets have been capitalized as
long term assets which will be amortized over seven years. Results of operations
include  the  costs of  continuing  the  development  of  products  and  related
activities  acquired from Bit after the closure of the  acquisition on September
3, 1996. The proforma effect of combining the Bit transaction with the Company's
operations  in 1995  and  prior  to the  acquisition  in 1996  are not  reported
separately because they are not considered to be material.

I.C. Works, Inc.
- ----------------

In order to secure additional access to wafer fabrication  capacity, in 1996 the
Company  acquired $3 million of preferred  stock of I.C. Works Inc.  ("ICW"),  a
foundry located in San Jose,  California.  Under the  arrangement  with ICW, the
Company also provided  semiconductor  manufacturing  equipment to ICW,  which it
financed  through capital leases.  In 1996, as a result of the  restructuring of
non-networking  operations,  the Company identified that it would not be able to
benefit from the arrangement with ICW and included a $6.9 million  provision for
impairment of these assets in its restructuring charge.

In 1997, the Company advanced an additional $3 million to ICW and  subsequently,
ICW sold  substantially all of its assets,  including the  manufacturing  assets
contributed  by the Company.  On  settlement  of its  arrangement  with ICW, the
Company received  proceeds of $4.8 million,  resulting in the requirement for an
additional  provision for impairment of $3.5 million.  This additional provision
was included in the overall  recovery  from  disposal of excess fixed assets and
assets  related to capacity  commitments  of  $942,000  (see Note 9) recorded on
completion of the restructuring.

Sierra Wireless, Inc.
- ---------------------

On July 7, 1993, the Company and MPR Teltech Ltd.  ("MPR") of British  Columbia,
Canada  announced an  investment in a new company  called  Sierra  Wireless Inc.
(Sierra Wireless).  MPR contributed  technology  licenses in exchange for Sierra
Wireless's   non-voting   preferred   stock.  In  1993,  the  Company   invested
approximately  $2.5 million of cash in exchange for shares of Sierra  Wireless's
non-voting  preferred  stock.  This initial  investment  was expensed in 1993 as
Sierra Wireless was still in its development  stage. In 1996, 1995 and 1994, the
Company  invested  an  additional  approximately  $0.2,  $1.4 and $2.5  million,
respectively,  in Sierra  Wireless.  These  investments were capitalized and are
being  accounted  for as an  investment  in equity  shares  recorded on the cost
basis, since Sierra Wireless is now an operating company.

PMC-Sierra, Ltd.
- ----------------

On September 2, 1994, the Company  acquired  voting control of PMC-Sierra,  Ltd.
(formerly PMC-Sierra,  Inc.) ("LTD") of Burnaby,  British Columbia,  Canada. LTD
supplies  broadband  transmission  and  networking  chip set  products  for ATM,
SONET/SDH  and  T1/E1  applications.  LTD was  established  in July  1992 by the
Company, which invested approximately $4.9 million of cash in exchange for LTD's
non-voting preferred stock representing approximately 61% of LTD's securities on
a  fully  diluted  basis;  MPR  Teltech  Ltd.,  a  Canadian  corporation,  which
contributed assets and technology licenses in exchange for non-voting  preferred
stock; a venture capital investor,  which purchased  non-voting  preferred stock
for cash; and LTD's employees, who purchased voting common stock.

The Company acquired voting control of LTD through a recapitalization of LTD. In
the  recapitalization,  the Company exchanged its LTD non-voting preferred stock
for LTD's voting Ordinary A Shares and LTD's other stockholders  exchanged their
preferred  stock and common stock for LTD A Special  Shares.  Each LTD A Special
Share is  currently  convertible  at the  holder's  option for two shares of the
Company's  common stock.  The Company  reserved  5,000,000  shares of its common
stock for issuance in connection with requests to redeem LTD Special Shares then
outstanding.  The acquisition of voting control  through LTD's  recapitalization
was accounted for as a purchase of the  interests of the other  stockholders  in
LTD.

Under the terms of the recapitalization  agreement, in the third quarter of 1995
the Company adjusted the 1994 purchase price paid to the other LTD stockholders.
Accordingly, the minority stockholders received additional consideration through
the right to acquire an additional  1,294,722 shares of common stock in exchange
for LTD B Special  Shares.  The  issuance of these  shares was  reflected in the
Company's  financial  statements in 1995 as a special  charge to income of $10.6
million  relating  to  compensation  expense and an increase in goodwill of $9.1
million.

The Special  Shares of LTD will be classified  outside of  stockholders'  equity
until such shares are exchanged for PMC common stock.

Before the recapitalization, the Company held only non-voting preferred stock in
LTD, and accordingly  LTD's assets,  liabilities and operating  results were not
consolidated with those of the Company.  From the date of the  recapitalization,
LTD's  balance  sheet  and  operating  results  have  been  consolidated  in the
Company's financial statements.


NOTE 3.  Line of Credit

At December 31, 1998,  the Company had available a revolving line of credit with
a bank under which the Company may borrow up to $15 million with interest at the
bank's  alternate  base rate (annual rate of 7.75% at December  31,  1998).  The
Company  cannot pay cash  dividends,  or make material  divestments  without the
prior  written  consent  of the bank.  The  agreement  expires  in May 1999.  At
December 31, 1998 and December 31, 1997, there were no amounts outstanding under
this agreement.


NOTE 4. Obligations Under Capital Leases and Long Term Debt

The Company leases furniture and equipment under long-term capital leases, which
have been accounted for as installment purchases. Accordingly, capitalized costs
of  approximately  $17,686,000  and  $58,251,000  at December 31, 1998 and 1997,
respectively,  and  accumulated  amortization of  approximately  $12,067,000 and
$26,656,000, respectively, are included in property and equipment.

Long-term  debt  and  obligations  under  capital  leases  are  as  follows  (in
thousands):

                                                       December 31,
                                                  ------------------------
                                                      1998         1997
                                                 
    Obligations under capital leases with        
    interest ranging from 7.41% to 24.48%           $  9,479     $ 12,938
                                                 
    Various unsecured notes, payable in          
    various installments with interest           
    rates ranging from 0% to 9%                          653          806
                                                  -----------  -----------
                                                      10,132       13,744
    Less current portion                              (4,909)      (4,652)
                                                  -----------  -----------
                                                    $  5,223     $  9,092
                                                  ===========  ===========

Future  minimum lease  payments at December 31, 1998 under capital leases are as
follows (in thousands):

    Year Ending December 31:
      1999                                                       $  5,633
      2000                                                          4,115
      2001                                                          1,314
      2002                                                              -
      2003                                                              -
                                                               -----------
    Total minimum lease payments                                   11,062
    Less amount representing imputed interest                      (1,583)
                                                               -----------
    Present value of future net minimum lease payments           $  9,479
                                                               ===========
                                                         


<PAGE>


Maturities  of the  unsecured  notes at  December  31,  1998 are as follows  (in
thousands):

       Year Ending December 31:            
         1999                                       $       93
         2000                                               93
         2001                                               93
         2002                                               93
         2003                                               93
       thereafter                                          188
                                                  -------------
                                                    $      653
                                                  =============

Fair value of financial instruments.  The estimated fair value amounts have been
determined by the Company using  available  market  information  and appropriate
valuation   methodologies.   However,   considerable  judgment  is  required  in
interpreting  market data to develop the  estimates of fair value.  Accordingly,
the estimates  presented  herein are not  necessarily  indicative of the amounts
that the Company could realize in a current market exchange.

The  Company's  carrying  value  of cash  equivalents,  short-term  investments,
accounts receivable,  accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximates fair
value because the instruments have a short-term maturity.

The fair value of the Company's  long-term  debt and  obligations  under capital
leases at December 31, 1998 and 1997 also approximates their carrying value.

The  fair  value  of  the  deposits  for  wafer  fabrication   capacity  is  not
determinable.


NOTE 5. Commitments and Contingencies

Operating  leases.  The Company  leases its  facilities  under  operating  lease
agreements,  which expire at various dates  through  April 30, 2006.  Total rent
expense for the years ended  December 31, 1998,  1997 and 1996 was $1.8 million,
$1.3 million and $2.1 million, respectively.

Minimum rental commitments under these leases are as follows (in thousands):

       Year Ending December 31:    
         1999                                      $     1,662
         2000                                            1,556
         2001                                            1,528
         2002                                            1,419
         2003                                            1,339
       thereafter                                        2,420
                                                 --------------
                                                   $     9,924
                                                 ==============
<PAGE>

Supply   agreements.   The  Company's  wafer  supply  agreement  with  Chartered
Semiconductor  ("Chartered")  expires on November  17,  1999.  However,  certain
provisions have been  superceded by a wafer capacity  agreement which expires in
December  2000  whereby  Chartered  is  obligated  to supply the Company  with a
predetermined number of wafers per quarter.  Taiwan Semiconductor  Manufacturing
Corporation  ("TSMC") is obligated to provide  certain  quantities of wafers per
year under an agreement  that  terminates  on December 31, 2000.  Neither of the
agreements  have minimum unit volume  requirements  but the Company is obligated
under one of the agreements to purchase in future  periods a minimum  percentage
of its total annual  wafer  requirements,  provided  that the foundry is able to
continue to offer competitive technology, pricing, quality and delivery.

Contingencies.  In the normal course of business, the Company receives and makes
inquiries with regard to possible patent infringements.  Where deemed advisable,
the Company may seek or extend  licenses or negotiate  settlements.  Outcomes of
such  negotiations  may not be  determinable  at any  point  in  time;  however,
management does not believe that such licenses or settlements will, individually
or in the aggregate,  have a material adverse effect on the Company's  financial
position, results of operations or liquidity.

Risks and  Uncertainties.  Technological  change - the markets for the Company's
products are characterized by evolving industry  standards,  rapid technological
change and product obsolescence. The carrying value of the Company's products in
inventory  may be  materially  impaired in the future should these changes occur
more  quickly  than  the  Company  anticipates.  Wafer  capacity  agreements  as
discussed  above,  the Company has entered  into  various  agreements  to secure
future wafer  capacity.  Should the Company need more  capacity or if there is a
decline in demand for the Company's  products thereby reducing the need for this
contracted  capacity,  estimates related to the carrying value of deposits could
materially change.


NOTE 6.  Stockholders' Equity

Authorized.  On July 10, 1997,  the Company was  reincorporated  in the State of
Delaware from the State of California. Prior to the reincorporation, the Company
had authorized capital of 55,405,916 shares, 50,000,000 of which were designated
"Common  Stock",  5,000,000  of which were  designated  "Preferred  Stock",  and
405,916 of which were  designated  "Series D Preferred  Stock".  All  authorized
shares  had  no  par  value.  After  the  reincorporation,  the  Company  had an
authorized  capital of 55,000,000  shares,  50,000,000 of which were  designated
"Common  Stock",  $0.001  par value,  and  5,000,000  of which  were  designated
"Preferred  Stock",  $0.001 par value.  The  excess of the  amount  recorded  as
capital  stock over the par value of capital stock on  reincorporation  has been
recorded as  additional  paid in capital at December  31,  1997.  The issued and
outstanding shares immediately before and after the reincorporation remained the
same. The reincorporation  included no other significant changes with respect to
shares outstanding,  reserved shares and various applicable options,  rights and
warrants.

During 1998, the Company's  stockholders elected to add an additional 50,000,000
authorized  shares  of common  stock to the  50,000,000  shares of common  stock
authorized at the end of 1997. The Company  currently has an authorized  capital
of  105,000,000  shares,  100,000,000 of which are  designated  "Common  Stock",
$0.001 par value,  and  5,000,000  of which are  designated  "Preferred  Stock",
$0.001 par value.

Common Stock. At December 31, 1998 and 1997, the Company maintained a reserve of
1,259,000 and 1,618,000  shares,  respectively,  of common stock to be issued to
holders of LTD Special  Shares and options to purchase LTD Special  Shares.  The
holders of the Special Shares have the right to exchange one A Special Share for
two shares of the Company's  common  stock,  and one B Special Share for 0.54612
share of the Company's common stock. Upon exchange,  amounts will be transferred
from the LTD Special Shares account to the Company's common stock and additional
paid-in capital on the consolidated balance sheet.

During 1996,  the Company  issued a warrant to purchase  25,000 shares of common
stock at $9.25  per  share  to an  investment  banking  firm in  settlement  for
services previously expensed. The warrant expires in August 2000.

The Company has adopted a 1987 Incentive  Stock Plan and a 1994 Incentive  Stock
Plan. Its wholly owned subsidiaries,  PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Portland) and PMC-Sierra
Maryland Inc. have adopted 1996 and 1998 Stock Option Plans, respectively. These
plans cover  grants of options to purchase the  Company's  common  stock.  Under
these  Plans,  Incentive  Stock  Options  may be  granted to  employees  and Non
Statutory  Options may be granted to employees,  directors and  consultants,  to
purchase  shares of the  Company's  common  stock at not less than 100% and 85%,
respectively,  of the fair value of the stock on the date  granted.  The options
generally expire within five to ten years and vest over four years.

During 1998, the Company's common stockholders elected to add a provision to the
1994 Incentive Stock Plan. Under the new terms, the number of shares  authorized
to be available for issuance under the plan shall be increased  automatically on
January 1, 1999, and every year thereafter until the expiration of the plan. The
increase  will be limited to the lesser of (i) 4% of the  outstanding  shares on
January  1 of each  year,  (ii)  2,000,000  shares,  or  (iii) an  amount  to be
determined by the Board of Directors.



<PAGE>


Option activity under the option plans was as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                                             Weighted
                                                                       Number of Options      Average
                                                  Options Available       Outstanding      Exercise Price
                                                     For Issuance                             Per Share
<S>                             <C>                   <C>                  <C>                 <C>   
Outstanding at December 31, 1995
    (1,037,181 options exercisable at a
      weighted average price of $5.43)                1,252,225            2,715,151           $ 8.13
    Authorized                                        1,250,000                    -                -
    Granted (weighted average fair value of                                                
      $6.79 per share)                               (1,403,574)           1,403,574           $14.11
    Exercised                                             -                (503,825)           $ 4.74
    Expired                                             (85,980)                   -                -
    Cancelled                                           515,878            (515,878)           $12.73
                                                     -----------          -----------      
                                                                                           
Outstanding at December 31, 1996                                                           
    (1,252,874 options exercisable at a                                                    
      weighted average price of $7.44)                1,528,549            3,099,022           $10.63
    Authorized                                          500,000                    -                -
    Granted (weighted average fair value of                                                
      $7.97 per share)                               (1,426,450)           1,426,450           $17.48
    Exercised                                             -                 (693,450)          $ 7.22
    Expired                                             (36,112)                   -                -
    Cancelled                                           484,216             (484,216)          $14.96
                                                     -----------          -----------      
                                                                                           
Outstanding at December 31, 1997                                                           
    (1,324,173 options exercisable at a                                                    
      weighted average price of $9.28)                1,050,203            3,347,806           $13.62
    Authorized                                        1,314,414                    -                -
    Granted (weighted average fair value of                                                
      $21.77 per share)                              (1,381,114)           1,381,114           $28.82
    Exercised                                             -                 (786,212)          $ 7.61
    Cancelled                                           149,699*            (163,391)*         $21.96
                                                     -----------          -----------      
                                                                                           
Outstanding at December 31, 1998                      1,133,202            3,779,317           $20.10
                                                     ===========          ===========     
<FN>
* During 1998, 13,692 options granted under the 1998 Option Plan were cancelled.
Under this plan,  stock allocated to options  subsequently  cancelled may not be
re-allocated to new grants.
</FN>

</TABLE>

<PAGE>



The following table summarizes  information  concerning options  outstanding for
the combined option plans at December 31, 1998:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                         Options Outstanding                             Options Exercisable
                       --------------------------------------------------------    -------------------------------
                                        
                                        Weighted Average         Weighted                              Weighted
                                            Remaining             Average                              Average
Range of Exercise          Number       Contractual Life         Exercise             Number           Exercise
                        Outstanding         (years)          Price per share        Exercisable    Price per share
     Prices                             
<S>       <C>             <C>                 <C>                <C>                   <C>             <C>    
 $ 0.89 - $10.94          774,252             6.30               $  7.38               584,429         $  7.25
 $11.25 - $14.63          766,222             8.01               $ 14.19               350,413         $ 14.16
 $15.06 - $18.13          755,048             7.56               $ 16.37               448,009         $ 16.41
 $18.38 - $30.56          776,933             8.73               $ 26.72               124,332         $ 22.45
 $31.88 - $56.19          706,862             9.23               $ 37.36                30,583         $ 32.75
                       ----------                                                   ----------    
 $ 0.89 - $56.19        3,779,317             7.94               $ 20.10             1,537,766         $ 13.23
                       ==========                                                   ==========   
</TABLE>


Employee Stock  Purchase  Plan. In 1991,  the Company  adopted an Employee Stock
Purchase Plan (ESPP) under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code and reserved
1,060,000  shares of common stock for issuance under the Plan.  Under this Plan,
qualified  employees  may  authorize  payroll  deductions  of up to 10% of their
compensation  (as defined) to purchase  common stock at 85% of the lower of fair
market value at the beginning or end of the related subscription period.  During
1998, 1997 and 1996, respectively,  there were 96,429, 105,149 and 79,863 shares
issued under the Plan at weighted-average prices of $12.26, $10.40 and $8.38 per
share.  The  weighted-average  fair value of the 1998,  1997 and 1996 awards was
$11.41,  $6.96 and $3.78 per share,  respectively.  During 1998,  the  Company's
stockholders  authorized an additional  250,000 shares to be available under the
plan.  As of  December  31,  1998,  there were  298,625  shares of common  stock
available for issuance under the purchase plan.

During 1998, the Company's  stockholders elected to add a provision to the ESPP.
Under the new  terms,  the  number  of shares  authorized  to be  available  for
issuance under the plan shall be increased automatically on January 1, 1999, and
every year  thereafter  until the  expiration of the plan.  The increase will be
limited to the lesser of (i) 1% of the  outstanding  shares on January 1 of each
year, (ii) 500,000  shares,  or (iii) an amount to be determined by the Board of
Directors.

Stock-based  compensation.  In accordance  with the  provisions of SFAS No. 123,
"Accounting for Stock-Based  Compensation" ("SFAS 123"), the Company applies APB
Opinion 25 and related interpretations in accounting for its stock-based awards.
The Company's  ESPP is  non-compensatory  under APB Opinion 25. The Company does
not recognize compensation expense for employee stock options, which are granted
with exercise prices equal to the fair market value at the date of grant.
<PAGE>

Pro forma  information  regarding  net income  (loss) and net income  (loss) per
share is required by SFAS 123 for awards  granted or modified after December 31,
1994 as if the Company had  accounted  for its  stock-based  awards to employees
under  the fair  value  method  of SFAS  123.  The fair  value of the  Company's
stock-based  awards to employees  was  estimated  using a  Black-Scholes  option
pricing model. The Black-Scholes option valuation model was developed for use in
estimating  the fair value of traded  options that have no vesting  restrictions
and are fully  transferable.  In addition,  the Black-Scholes model requires the
input of highly  subjective  assumptions  including  the  expected  stock  price
volatility.   Because  the  Company's   stock-based  awards  to  employees  have
characteristics  significantly  different  from  those of  traded  options,  and
because changes in the subjective  input  assumptions can materially  affect the
fair  value  estimate,  in  management's  opinion,  the  existing  models do not
necessarily  provide  a  reliable  single  measure  of  the  fair  value  of its
stock-based  awards to employees.  The fair value of the  Company's  stock-based
awards  to  employees  was  estimated  using  the  multiple   option   approach,
recognizing  forfeitures as they occur, assuming no expected dividends and using
the following weighted average assumptions:

                                      Options                     ESPP
                            ------------------------    -----------------------
                             1998     1997     1996      1998     1997    1996
                             ----     ----     ----      ----     ----    ----
Expected life (years)         3.4      2.6      2.2       1.5      1.4    0.5
Expected volatility           0.7      0.7      0.8       0.7      0.8    0.8
Risk-free interest rate       5.2%     6.0%     5.7%      5.2%     5.9%   5.3%


If the computed fair values of 1998,  1997 and 1996 awards had been amortized to
expense  over the vesting  period of the awards as  prescribed  by SFAS 123, net
income (loss) and net income (loss) per share would have been:

(in thousands except per share amounts):

                                             1998         1997          1996
                                             ----         ----          ----
Net income (loss)                        $ (15,369)     $ 29,639     $ (54,006)
Basic net income (loss) per share        $   (0.48)     $   0.95     $   (1.82)
Diluted net income (loss) per share      $   (0.48)     $   0.92     $   (1.82)

The pro forma  disclosures  above include the effect of SFAS 128 relating to the
calculation  of net income per share and FASB  Technical  Bulletin  97-1,  which
clarified the  application of SFAS 123 to the estimation of fair value of awards
under ESPP plans with a multiple year look-back feature.

Because SFAS 123 is applicable only to awards granted or modified  subsequent to
December 31, 1994,  the pro forma effect is not  indicative  of future pro forma
adjustments, when the calculation will apply to all applicable stock awards.


NOTE 7.  Income Taxes

The income tax provisions,  calculated  under Statement of Financial  Accounting
Standard No. 109 ("SFAS 109"), consist of the following (in thousands):

                                               Year Ended December 31,
                                       -------------------------------------
                                             1998         1997         1996
      Current:
        Federal                          $    190     $ (1,289)    $  2,109
        State                                   -            -           42
        Foreign                            23,854       13,934        8,844
                                       -----------  -----------  -----------
                                           24,044       12,645       10,995
                                       -----------  -----------  -----------
      Deferred:
        Federal                              (132)       1,671       (1,799)
        Foreign                            (1,041)       1,411          562
                                       -----------  -----------  -----------
                                           (1,173)       3,082       (1,237)
                                       -----------  -----------  -----------
      Provision for income taxes         $ 22,871     $ 15,727     $  9,758
                                       ===========  ===========  ===========

A reconciliation  between the Company's  effective tax rate and the U.S. Federal
statutory rate (35% in 1998, 1997 and 1996) is as follows (in thousands):

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                         Year Ended December 31,
                                                                --------------------------------------
                                                                       1998         1997         1996

<S>                                                              <C>           <C>          <C>       
Income taxes (recovery) at U.S. Federal statutory rate           $    6,998    $  17,495    $ (14,522)
Net operating losses (utilized) not utilized                            (71)      (4,508)      11,257
In-process research and development costs
  relating to Bit acquisition                                             -            -        2,724
In-process research and development costs
  relating to IGT acquisition                                        13,214            -            -
In-process research and development costs
  relating to other acquisitions                                        497            -            -
Impairment of intangible asset                                        1,509            -            -
Incremental taxes on foreign earnings                                   234        2,258        9,406
Other                                                                   490          482          893
                                                                ------------  -----------  -----------
Provision for income taxes                                       $   22,871    $  15,727    $   9,758
                                                                ============  ===========  ===========
</TABLE>



<PAGE>


Significant  components of the Company's deferred tax assets and liabilities are
as follows (in thousands):

                                                      December 31,
                                             ----------------------------
                                                   1998           1997
Deferred tax assets:
  Net operating loss carryforwards             $   23,351     $   22,053
  State tax loss carryforwards                      1,500          1,250
  Credit carryforwards                              3,497          2,436
  Inventory valuation                                 430            229
  Restructuring and other charges                   3,245          5,984
  Deferred income                                   1,506            734
                                             -------------  -------------
Total deferred tax assets                          33,529         32,686
Valuation allowance                               (32,023)       (31,952)
                                             -------------  -------------
Total net deferred tax assets                       1,506            734
                                             -------------  -------------
Deferred tax liabilities:
  Depreciation                                     (4,015)        (4,288)
  Capitalized technology                             (342)          (469)
                                             -------------  -------------
Total deferred tax liabilities                     (4,357)        (4,757)
                                             -------------  -------------
Total net deferred taxes                       $   (2,851)    $   (4,023)
                                             =============  =============

During 1998, the valuation  allowance  decreased by  approximately  $71,000 as a
result of  utilization  of net  operating  losses.  During 1997,  the  valuation
allowance decreased by approximately $3,401,000.

The pretax income from foreign  operations was $62,355,000 in 1998,  $37,391,000
in 1997 and $23,044,000 in 1996.

At December  31,  1998,  the Company has  approximately  $66,716,000  (including
$7,317,000  from IGT and $6,409,000  from Bit) of federal net operating  losses,
which  will  expire  from  1999  to  2013.  Utilization  of the  IGT and Bit net
operating losses are subject to a limitation due to ownership change limitations
provided by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

The Company also has approximately  $25,428,000 of state tax loss carryforwards,
which expire from 1999 to 2003.  Included in the credit  carryforwards are state
research and development  credits of $1,324,000 which carryforward  indefinitely
and $2,173,000 of federal  research and development  credits,  which will expire
from 1999 to 2013.

Not included in the deferred assets are  approximately  $9,598,000 of cumulative
tax  deductions  related to equity  transactions,  the  benefit of which will be
credited  to  stockholders'  equity,  if and when  realized  after the other tax
deductions in the carryforwards have been realized.

<PAGE>

NOTE 8.  Segment Information

The Company has two operating segments:  networking and non-networking products.
The networking  segment consists of  internetworking  semiconductor  devices and
related  technical  service and support to  equipment  manufacturers  for use in
their  communications  and  networking  equipment.  The  non-networking  segment
includes  user  interface  products  such as  custom,  graphic,  modem and other
semiconductors. The Company is supporting these products for existing customers,
but has decided not to develop any further products of this type. (See note 9)

The accounting  policies of the segments are the same as those  described in the
summary of significant  accounting policies.  The Company evaluates  performance
based on gross margins from operations of the two segments.

                                     Year Ended December 31,
                            ----------------------------------------
                                 1998          1997          1996
    Networking
    
    Net revenues              $ 139,539     $  85,512     $  62,878
    Cost of revenues             26,476        15,983        16,509
                            ------------  ------------  ------------
    Gross profit              $ 113,063     $  69,529     $  46,369
                            ============  ============  ============
    
    
    Non- Networking
    
    Net revenues              $  22,273     $  41,654     $ 125,493
    Cost of revenues             11,744        17,082     $  78,439
                            ------------  ------------  ------------
    Gross profit              $  10,529     $  24,572     $  47,054
                            ============  ============  ============
    
    
    Total
    
    Net revenues              $ 161,812     $ 127,166     $ 188,371
    Cost of revenues             38,220        33,065        94,948
                            ------------  ------------  ------------
    Gross profit              $ 123,592     $  94,101     $  93,423
                            ============  ============  ============

Information related to geographical areas is as follows:

Net revenues:

                                       Year Ended December 31,
                              -------------------------------------------
                                  1998           1997           1996
    
    United States               $  110,256     $   89,371     $  102,632
    Canada                          15,780         12,373          2,678
    Europe and Middle East          12,431         11,430         23,684
    Asia                            23,246         13,693         59,377
    Other foreign                       99            299              -
                              -------------  -------------  -------------
                                $  161,812     $  127,166     $  188,371
                              =============  =============  =============

The  Company  attributes  revenue  among  the  geographical  areas  based on the
location of the customer invoiced.



<PAGE>


Long-lived assets:

                                       Year Ended December 31,
                              -------------------------------------------
                                    1998           1997           1996
    
    United States               $   35,873     $   26,581     $   37,919
    Canada                          38,865         29,297         23,690
    Other                               40              -              -
                              -------------  -------------  -------------
                                $   74,778     $   55,878     $   61,609
                              =============  =============  =============

Long-lived assets include property and equipment,  goodwill and other intangible
assets,  investments  and  other  assets  and  deposits  for  wafer  fabrication
capacity.

The Company has revenues from external  customers  (1998 - 2, 1997 and 1996 - 1)
that exceed total net revenues by 10% as follows:

                                       Year Ended December 31,
                              -------------------------------------------
                                    1998           1997           1996
    
    Networking                  $   31,549     $    1,757      $       -
    Non-Networking                  18,579         21,403         18,850



NOTE 9.  Restructuring

On September 29, 1996, the Company recorded charges of $69,370,000 in connection
with the  Company's  decision to exit from the modem  chipset  business  and the
associated restructuring of the Company's non-networking product operations. The
charges were recorded in cost of sales as an inventory  write down  ($4,700,000)
and as  restructure  costs in operating  expenses  ($64,670,000).  In 1997,  the
company  recorded a  recovery  of  $1,383,000  from the  reversal  of the excess
accrued  restructuring  charge related to the  completion of the  restructuring.
There were no additional amounts incurred related to this restructuring in 1998.



<PAGE>


The elements of the restructuring charge are as follows (in thousands):

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                                         Shortfall
                                                                                Accrued       Recovery                  (excess) in
                                     Restructuring                            restructuring  (Additional                  accrued
                                      charge Sept.  Write-down      Actual    reserve Dec.   write down)     Actual    restructuring
                                       29, 1996      of Assets   Expenditures    31, 1996     of assets   Expenditures    reserve
                                     ------------- ------------  ------------ ------------- ------------- ------------ -------------

<S>                                    <C>           <C>          <C>           <C>           <C>           <C>          <C>      
Write down of inventories to net
  realizable value                     $   23,000    $ (23,000)   $        -    $        -    $  (1,371)    $       -    $   1,371
Employee termination benefits               6,985            -        (2,411)        4,574            -        (4,950)         376
Loss on supplier commitments
  and write off of prepaid expenses         9,908         (905)         (409)        8,594            -        (6,254)      (2,340)
Write down of excess fixed
  assets and assets related
  to capacity commitments                  16,580      (16,580)            -             -          942             -         (942)
Provision for price protection and
  product returns                           5,047       (5,047)            -             -            -             -            -
Excess facility costs                       3,411            -          (408)        3,003            -        (2,507)        (496)
Write down of goodwill related to
  Company's B.V. subsidiary in
  Holland                                   2,459       (2,459)            -             -            -             -            -
Severance and closure costs
  related to Europe                         1,980            -        (1,397)          583            -        (1,231)         648
                                     ------------- ------------ ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------ -------------
                                       $   69,370    $ (47,991)   $   (4,625)   $   16,754    $    (429)    $ (14,942)   $   (1,383)
                                     ============= ============ ============= ============= ============= ============ =============

</TABLE>

As part of this  restructuring,  the  Company  ceased  manufacturing  its  modem
chipset   products  in  September   1996  and  completed  the  shutdown  of  the
non-networking  operations in San Jose by the middle of 1997. As a result of its
decision to exit the modem chipset business,  the Company identified incremental
impairments in the carrying value of its non-networking inventory resulting in a
$23,000,000  write down of  inventories  to net  realizable  value.  In 1997, an
additional  write down of  $1,371,000  was required on disposal of the remaining
inventory. The write down was included in the recovery recorded in 1997.

Termination  benefits  for  approximately  245  employees  associated  with  the
Company's non-networking operations were paid to employees as they reached their
termination dates, between November 1996 and July 1997. As at December 31, 1996,
118 had reached their termination  dates and had left the Company.  In 1996, the
Company accrued  $6,985,000 in costs relating to employee  termination  benefits
and  incurred  expenditures  of  $2,411,000.   In  1997,  the  Company  incurred
expenditures  of  $4,950,000  completing  the  payment of  employee  termination
benefits  and the  shortfall  in the  accrual of  $376,000  was  included in the
recovery recorded in 1997.

In 1996, the Company  recorded  charges of $9,908,000  including a write down of
$905,000  and   expenditures  of  $409,000   arising  from  losses  on  supplier
commitments and write off of prepaid expenses.  In 1997, the Company settled the
remaining  supplier  commitments and other charges related to the  restructuring
through  expenditures  of $6,254,000  and an excess  accrual of  $2,340,000  was
included in the recovery recorded in 1997.

In  connection   with  its  decision  in  1996  to  discontinue   non-networking
operations,  the Company  evaluated  the ongoing  value of the fixed  assets and
assets related to capacity commitments  associated with these operations.  Based
on this  evaluation,  the  Company  identified  approximately  $2.1  million  of
non-networking  property and equipment  that will continue to be utilized in the
Company's  networking  operations.  The remaining  non-networking  assets with a
carrying  amount of  approximately  $11.6 million were determined to be impaired
and were written down by  approximately  $9.7  million to their  estimated  fair
market  value.  In addition,  the Company  recorded an  impairment  provision of
approximately  $6.9 million in the value of certain  leased assets related to IC
Works Inc. In 1997, on disposal of these assets,  the Company  realized  overall
proceeds  of  $942,000  in excess of the  written  down  value.  The  excess was
included in the recovery recorded in 1997.

In conjunction with the decision to exit the modem chipset business, the Company
was subject to  incremental  pricing  pressure  and  potential  returns of modem
chipset  products.  In 1996, a non cash charge of  $5,047,000  was recorded as a
write  down of  related  assets to  provide  for the  potential  impact of price
protection and product returns.

In 1996, the Company accrued  charges of $3,411,000  relating to excess facility
costs  primarily  consisting  of amounts to be incurred  by the Company  under a
seven year non-cancelable operating lease expiring in 2003. In 1996, the Company
incurred  expenditures of $408,000  related to the charge.  In 1997, the Company
successfully  cancelled the lease resulting in expenditures of $2,507,000 and an
adjustment of $496,000 was included in the recovery recorded.

The Company's  operations in Europe were closed as a result of the 1996 decision
to exit the modem chipset  business.  The charges related to the shutdown of the
European subsidiaries, including severance payments and excess facilities costs,
totaled $1,980,000, with expenditures in 1996 totaling $1,397,000. Additionally,
the  restructuring  charge  included a write down of the  remaining  goodwill of
$2,459,000 for the Company's  Holland  operation.  In 1997, the Company competed
its closure of the European  operations and incurred  expenditures of $1,231,000
resulting  in an under  accrual of $648,000  which was  included in the recovery
recorded.

In  1997,   expenditures   associated   with  the   restructuring   charge  were
approximately  $14.9  million  (1996 - $4.6  million),  which were funded by the
Company's cash flow from operations.



<PAGE>


NOTE 10.  Net Income (Loss) Per Share.

The following  table sets forth the  computation of basic and diluted net income
(loss) per share:


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                         December 31,
                                                           ---------------------------------------
                                                                1998         1997          1996
<S>                                                          <C>           <C>          <C>       
Numerator:
  Net income (loss)                                          $  (2,878)    $ 34,258     $ (48,150)
                                                           ------------  -----------  ------------

Denominator:
  Basic weighted average common shares outstanding (1)          32,002       31,043        29,719
  Effect of dilutive securities:
    Stock options                                                    -        1,585             -
    Stock warrants                                                   -           14             -
                                                           ------------  -----------  ------------
  Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding            32,002       32,642        29,719
                                                           ============  ===========  ============

Basic net income (loss) per share                            $   (0.09)    $   1.10     $   (1.62)
                                                           ============  ===========  ============

Diluted net income (loss) per share                          $   (0.09)    $   1.05     $   (1.62)
                                                           ============  ===========  ============

(1) PMC-Sierra, Ltd. Special Shares are included in the calculation of basic net
income per share.

</TABLE>


<PAGE>


                                    PART III

ITEM  9.  Changes  in and  Disagreements  with  Accountants  on  Accounting  and
Financial Disclosure.

Not applicable.


ITEM 10.  Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant

The  information  concerning  the Company's  directors  required by this Item is
incorporated  by reference to the Company's  Proxy Statement for its 1999 Annual
Meeting  of  Stockholders   ("Proxy   Statement").   The  following  sets  forth
information regarding executive officers of the Company as of February 28, 1999.

       Name          Age                Position
- ------------------  -----  ---------------------------------------------------
Robert L. Bailey      41   President and Chief Executive Officer
Greg Aasen            43   Chief Operating Officer
John W. Sullivan      52   Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Officers serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors.  There are no family
relationships between any of the directors or officers of the Company.

Mr.  Bailey has served as  Director  of the Company  since  October  1996 and as
President  and Chief  Executive  Officer  since July 1997.  In prior years,  Mr.
Bailey acted as President and Chief Executive Officer of PMC-Sierra,  Ltd. Prior
to joining the Company,  Mr. Bailey was employed by  AT&T-Microelectronics  from
August 1989 to November  1993,  where he served as Vice  President of Integrated
Microperipheral  Products. Mr. Bailey was formerly employed by Texas Instruments
in various management assignments from June 1979 to August 1989.

Mr. Aasen has served as Chief  Operating  Officer of the Company since  February
1997.  Mr.  Aasen is a  founder  of  PMC-Sierra,  Ltd.  and  served as its Chief
Operating  Officer and Secretary since its formation in June 1992. He has served
as a director of PMC-Sierra, Ltd. since August 1994. Prior to joining PMC-Sierra
Ltd., Mr. Aasen was a General Manager of PMC, a division of MPR Teltech, Ltd.

Mr.  Sullivan  joined the Company in April 1997 as Vice  President,  Finance and
Chief  Financial  Officer.  Prior to joining  the  Company,  he was  employed by
Semitool Inc., a semiconductor equipment  manufacturer,  as VP Finance from 1993
to 1997.  Prior to his employment  with Semitool Inc., Mr. Sullivan was employed
by United Dominion Industries and Arthur Young & Company.


<PAGE>

ITEM 11.  Executive Compensation.

The  information  required  by this Item is  incorporated  by  reference  to the
Company's Proxy Statement.


ITEM 12.  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.

The  information  required  by this Item is  incorporated  by  reference  to the
Company's Proxy Statement.


ITEM 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.

The  information  required  by this Item is  incorporated  by  reference  to the
Company's Proxy Statement.


                                     PART IV


ITEM 14.  Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules and Reports on Form 8-K.

(a)      1.  Consolidated Financial Statements
             The financial  statements  (including the notes thereto)  listed in
             the  accompanying  index  to  financial  statements  and  financial
             statement  schedules  are filed  within this Annual  Report on Form
             10-K.

         2.  Financial Statement Schedules
             The  financial   statement  schedule  listed  on  page  37  in  the
             accompanying index to financial  statements and financial statement
             schedule is filed within this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

         3.  Exhibits
             The exhibits listed under Item 14(c) are filed as part of this Form
             10-K Annual Report.

(b)      Reports on Form 8-K
         No reports on Form 8-K were filed by the Company in the  quarter  ended
         December 31, 1998.

(c)      Exhibits pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

Exhibit                                     Description                                   Page
Number                                                                                    Number
- --------   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------   ------
<S>        <C>                                                                            <C>
     2.1   Exchange Agreement dated September 2, 1994 between the Company and             (C)
           PMC-Sierra, Ltd.
     2.2   Amended and Restated Shareholders' Agreement dated September 2, 1994           (C)
           among the Shareholders of PMC-Sierra, Inc.
     2.3   Amendment to Exchange Agreement effective August 9, 1995                       (F)
     3.1   Certificate of Incorporation                                                   (I)

<PAGE>

    3.1A   Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation                   (N)
           filed June 13, 1997
    3.1B   Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation                   (N)
           filed July 11, 1997
    3.1C   Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation of PMC-Sierra,        (O)
           Inc. filed on June 4, 1998.
     3.2   Bylaws, as amended                                                              --
     4.1   Specimen of Common Stock Certificate                                           (K)
     4.3   Terms of PMC-Sierra, Inc. Special Shares                                       (D)
   10.1B   1987 Incentive  Stock Plan, as amended                                         (B)
    10.2   1991 Employee  Stock Purchase plan, as amended                                  --
    10.4   Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Company and its directors        (H)
           and officers
    10.8   Warrants to Purchase Common Stock                                              (A)
   10.8B   Warrant Purchase Agreement and Warrants to Purchase Shares of Common           (J)
           Stock dated August 28, 1996
   10.9D   Technology License Agreement dated November 18, 1987, as amended               (A)
           July 17, 1990
   10.17   PMC-Sierra, Inc. 1994 Incentive Stock Plan                                     (E)
   10.18   Deposit Agreement with Chartered Semiconductor Pte. Ltd.*                      (G)
  10.18B   Amendment Agreement (No. 1) to Deposit Agreement with Chartered                (J)
           Semiconductor Pte. Ltd.*
   10.19   Option Agreement among Sierra Semiconductor Corporation, PMC-Sierra,           (J)
           Inc., and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation*
   10.21   PMC-Sierra Inc. (Portland) 1996 Stock Option Plan                              (O)
   10.22   Net Building Lease (PMC-Sierra, Ltd.), dated May 15, 1996                      (J)
   10.23   Revolving Operating Line of Credit Agreement between PMC-Sierra, Inc.          (O)
           and CIBC Inc. dated 21st day of May 1998.
   10.24   Revolving Operating Line of Credit Agreement between PMC-Sierra, Ltd.          (O)
           And CIBC dated 21st day of May 1998.
   10.25   Pledge Agreement between PMC-Sierra,  Inc and CIBC Inc. with respect to        (O)
           shares of PMC-Sierra  Ltd. dated 11th day of March,  1998.
   10.26   Pledge  Agreement between PMC-Sierra, Inc and CIBC Inc. with respect to        (O)
           shares of PMC-Sierra International Inc. dated 27th day of April 1998.
<PAGE>

   10.27   Guarantee Agreement between PMC-Sierra, Inc. and CIBC dated 27th day of        (O)
           April, 1998.
   10.28   1998 PMC-Sierra (Maryland), Inc. Stock Option Plan                             (O)
    11.1   Calculation of earnings per share                                              (M)
    16.1   Letter regarding change in certifying accountant                               (L)
    21.1   Subsidiaries                                                                    --
    23.1   Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors                              --
    23.2   Consent of Deloitte & Touche, Independent Auditors                              --
    24.1   Power of Attorney                                                              (P)
<FN>

   *       Confidential treatment has been granted as to a portion of this exhibit.

  (A)      Incorporated by reference from the same-numbered  exhibit filed with the Registrant's
           Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 33-39406).

  (B)      Incorporated by reference from the same-numbered  exhibit filed with the Registrant's
           Form 10-K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended January 3, 1993.

  (C)      Incorporated by reference from the same-numbered  exhibit filed with the Registrant's
           Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on September 16, 1994, as amended.

  (D)      Incorporated  by reference  from exhibit 4 of the Schedule  13-D filed on November 2,
           1994 by GTE Corporation.

  (E)      Incorporated by reference from the same numbered  exhibit filed with the Registrant's
           Form 10-K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended January 2, 1994.

  (F)      Incorporated by reference from exhibit 2.1 filed with Registrant's  Current Report on
           Form 8-K, filed on September 6, 1995, as amended on October 6, 1995.

  (G)      Incorporated by reference from the same numbered  exhibit filed with the Registrant's
           Form 10-K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1995.

  (H)      Incorporated  by reference from exhibit 10.21 filed with  Registrant's  Form 10-Q for
           the quarter ended June 30, 1997.

  (I)      Incorporated by reference from exhibit 3.1 filed with  Registrant's Form 10-Q for the
           quarter ended June 30, 1997.

  (J)      Incorporated by reference from the same numbered  exhibit filed with the Registrant's
           Form 10-K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1996.

  (K)      Incorporated by reference from exhibit 4.4 filed with the Registrant's Current Report
           on Form 8-K, filed on August 29, 1997.

  (L)      Incorporated  by  reference  from exhibit  16.1 filed with the  Registrant's  Current
           Report on Form 8-K, filed on April 18, 1997.

  (M)      Refer to Note 12 of the  financial  statements  included in Item 8 of Part II of this
           Annual Report.

  (N)      Incorporated by reference from the same numbered  exhibit filed with the Registrant's
           Form 10-K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1997.

  (O)      Incorporated by reference from same numbered exhibit filed with the Registrant's Form
           10-Q Quarterly  Report for the quarterly period ended June 28, 1998.

  (P)      Incorporated by reference from Signatures page of this Annual Report.
</FN>
</TABLE>


(d)      Financial Statement  Schedules required by this item are listed on page
         22 in the accompanying index to the financial statements.



<PAGE>



                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the  requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities  Exchange
Act of 1934,  the  Registrant  has duly  caused  this report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

                                   PMC-SIERRA, INC.
                                   (Registrant)

Date:  March 25, 1999              /s/ Robert L. Bailey                     
                                   -----------------------------------------
                                   Robert L. Bailey, Chief Executive Officer


                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE  PRESENTS,  that each person whose  signature  appears
below  constitutes and appoints  Robert L. Bailey and John W. Sullivan,  jointly
and severally, his attorneys-in-fact,  each with the power of substitution,  for
him in any and all  capacities,  to sign any  amendments  to this Report on Form
10-K,  and to file the  same,  with  exhibits  thereto  and other  documents  in
connection  therewith,  with the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission,  hereby
ratifying  and  confirming  all  that  each  of said  attorneys-in-fact,  or his
substitute or substitutes, may or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual
Report  has  been  signed  below  by the  following  persons  on  behalf  of the
Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

        Name                                    Title                                     Date


<S>                         <C>                                                      <C>
/s/ James V. Diller         Chairman of the Board and Director                       March 25, 1999
- -------------------                                                                  --------------
James V. Diller

/s/ Robert L. Bailey        Director and Chief Executive Officer                     March 25, 1999
- --------------------                                                                 --------------
Robert L. Bailey


/s/ John W. Sullivan        Vice President Finance, Chief Financial Officer          March 25, 1999
- --------------------        (and Principal Accounting Officer)                       --------------
John W. Sullivan

/s/ Colin Beaumont          Director                                                 March 25, 1999
- ------------------                                                                   --------------
Colin Beaumont

/s/ Frank Marshall          Director                                                 March 25, 1999
- ------------------                                                                   --------------
Frank Marshall

/s/ Alexandre Balkanski     Director                                                 March 25, 1999
- -----------------------                                                              --------------
Alexandre Balkanski

</TABLE>

<PAGE>

 SCHEDULE II - VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS


                  Years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996
                                 (in thousands)

                               Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

                            Additions      Additions   
  Year      Balance at      charged to     charged to  
           beginning of     costs and       other                     Balance at
              year           expenses      accounts     Write-offs   end of year
                                                       
  1998      $ 1,070           241             -             183        $ 1,128
  1997      $   842           500             -             272        $ 1,070
  1996      $ 1,081           666             -             905        $   842
                                                      

<PAGE>

                                INDEX TO EXHIBITS

   Exhibit                                                                Page
   Number                        Description                             Number
  ---------   --------------------------------------------------------  --------
              
      3.2     Bylaws, as amended                                            -

     10.2     1991 Employee Stock Purchase plan, as amended                 -

     21.1     Subsidiaries                                                  -

     23.1     Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors            -

     23.2     Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, Independent Auditors        -



                                  BYLAWS

                                    OF

                             PMC-SIERRA, INC.

                         (a Delaware Corporation)



<PAGE>



                                BYLAWS OF

                             PMC-SIERRA, INC.
                         (a Delaware Corporation)

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                            Page

 ARTICLE I

          CORPORATE OFFICES.................................................. -
          1.1       REGISTERED OFFICE........................................ -
          1.2       OTHER OFFICES............................................ -

 ARTICLE II

          MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS........................................... -
          2.1       PLACE OF MEETINGS........................................ -
          2.2       ANNUAL MEETING........................................... -
          2.3       SPECIAL MEETING.......................................... -
          2.4       NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS' MEETINGS......................... -
          2.5       NOTIFICATIONS OF NOMINATIONS AND PROPOSED BUSINESS....... -
          2.6       MANNER OF GIVING NOTICE; AFFIDAVIT OF NOTICE............. -
          2.7       QUORUM................................................... -
          2.8       ADJOURNED MEETING; NOTICE................................ -
          2.9       VOTING................................................... -
          2.10      WAIVER OF NOTICE......................................... -
          2.11      RECORD DATE FOR STOCKHOLDER NOTICE; VOTING............... -
          2.12      PROXIES.................................................. -
          2.13      ORGANIZATION............................................. -
          2.14      LIST OF STOCKHOLDERS ENTITLED TO VOTE.................... -

 ARTICLE III

          DIRECTORS.......................................................... -
          3.1       POWERS................................................... -
          3.2       NUMBER OF DIRECTORS...................................... -
          3.3       ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE OF DIRECTORS................. -
          3.4       RESIGNATION AND VACANCIES................................ -
          3.5       PLACE OF MEETINGS; MEETINGS BY TELEPHONE................. -
          3.6       REGULAR MEETINGS......................................... -
          3.7       SPECIAL MEETINGS; NOTICE................................. -
          3.8       QUORUM................................................... -


<PAGE>

          3.9       WAIVER OF NOTICE......................................... -
          3.10      ADJOURNMENT.............................................. -
          3.11      NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT.................................... -
          3.12      BOARD ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING........ -
          3.13      FEES AND COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS....................... -
          3.14      APPROVAL OF LOANS TO OFFICERS............................ -

 ARTICLE IV

          COMMITTEES......................................................... -
          4.1       COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS.................................. -
          4.2       MEETINGS AND ACTION OF COMMITTEES........................ -
          4.3       COMMITTEE MINUTES........................................ -
                                                                             
 ARTICLE V                                                                   
                                                                             
          OFFICERS........................................................... -
          5.1       OFFICERS................................................. -
          5.2       ELECTION OF OFFICERS..................................... -
          5.3       SUBORDINATE OFFICERS..................................... -
          5.4       REMOVAL AND RESIGNATION OF OFFICERS...................... -
          5.5       VACANCIES IN OFFICES..................................... -
          5.6       CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD.................................... -
          5.7       PRESIDENT................................................ -
          5.8       VICE PRESIDENTS.......................................... -
          5.9       SECRETARY................................................ -
          5.10  CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER...................................... -
<PAGE>

 ARTICLE VI

          INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES,
          AND OTHER AGENTS................................................... -
          6.1       INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS................ -
          6.2       INDEMNIFICATION OF OTHERS................................ -
          6.3       INSURANCE................................................ -
                                                                            
 ARTICLE VII
          RECORDS AND REPORTS................................................ -
          7.1       MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF RECORDS.................... -
          7.2       INSPECTION BY DIRECTORS.................................. -
          7.3       ANNUAL STATEMENT TO STOCKHOLDERS......................... -
          7.4       REPRESENTATION OF SHARES OF OTHER CORPORATIONS........... -
          7.5       CERTIFICATION AND INSPECTION OF BYLAWS................... -

 ARTICLE VIII

          GENERAL MATTERS.................................................... -
          8.1       RECORD DATE FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN NOTICE AND VOTING.... -
          8.2       CHECKS; DRAFTS; EVIDENCES OF INDEBTEDNESS................ -
          8.3       CORPORATE CONTRACTS AND INSTRUMENTS:  HOW EXECUTED....... -
          8.4       STOCK CERTIFICATES; TRANSFER; PARTLY PAID SHARES......... -
          8.5       SPECIAL DESIGNATION ON CERTIFICATES...................... -
          8.6       LOST CERTIFICATES........................................ -
          8.7       TRANSFER AGENTS AND REGISTRARS........................... -
          8.8       CONSTRUCTION; DEFINITIONS................................ -
                                                                            
 ARTICLE IX                                                                 
                                                                            
          AMENDMENTS......................................................... -


<PAGE>


                                     BYLAWS

                                       OF

                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.

                            (a Delaware Corporation)


                                    ARTICLE I

                                CORPORATE OFFICES

          1.1       REGISTERED OFFICE

          The  registered  office  of the  Corporation  shall  be  fixed  in the
Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation.

          1.2       OTHER OFFICES

          The Board of Directors may at any time establish branch or subordinate
offices  at any  place or  places  where  the  Corporation  is  qualified  to do
business.


                                   ARTICLE II

                            MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

          2.1       PLACE OF MEETINGS

          Meetings of stockholders  shall be held at any place within or outside
the State of Delaware  designated by the Board of  Directors.  In the absence of
any such  designation,  stockholders'  meetings  shall be held at the  principal
executive office of the Corporation.

          2.2       ANNUAL MEETING

          The annual meeting of  stockholders  shall be held each year on a date
and at a time  designated  by the Board of  Directors.  In the  absence  of such
designation,  the  annual  meeting  of  stockholders  shall be held on the third
Tuesday of May in each year at 10:00 a.m. However,  if such day falls on a legal
holiday,  then the meeting  shall be held at the same time and place on the next
succeeding full business day. At the meeting,  directors  shall be elected,  and
any other proper business may be transacted.

<PAGE>

          2.3       SPECIAL MEETING

          A special meeting of the stockholders may be called at any time by the
Board of Directors, or by the Chairman of the Board, or by the President.

          2.4       NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS' MEETINGS

          All  notices of meetings of  stockholders  shall be sent or  otherwise
given in accordance  with Section 2.6 of these bylaws not less than ten (10) nor
more than  sixty  (60) days  before the date of the  meeting.  The notice  shall
specify  the  place,  date,  and  hour of the  meeting  and (i) in the case of a
special  meeting,  the  general  nature of the  business  to be  transacted  (no
business  other than that  specified in the notice may be transacted) or (ii) in
the case of the annual meeting,  those matters which the Board of Directors,  at
the time of giving the notice, intends to present for action by the stockholders
(but any proper  matter may be  presented at the meeting for such  action).  The
notice of any meeting at which  directors  are to be elected  shall  include the
name of any  nominee  or  nominees  who,  at the time of the  notice,  the Board
intends to present for election.

          2.5       NOTIFICATIONS OF NOMINATIONS AND PROPOSED BUSINESS.

          Subject  to the  rights  of  holders  of any  class or series of stock
having a preference over the Common Stock as to dividends or upon liquidation,

                    (a)    nominations for the election of directors, and

                    (b) business  proposed to be brought before any  stockholder
meeting

may be made by the Board of Directors or proxy committee  appointed by the Board
of Directors or by any stockholder entitled to vote in the election of directors
generally if such nomination or business  proposed is otherwise  proper business
before such  meeting.  However,  any such  stockholder  may nominate one or more
persons for election as directors at a meeting or propose business to be brought
before a meeting,  or both, only if such  stockholder has given timely notice in
proper  written form of his intent to make such  nomination or nominations or to
propose such business. To be timely, such stockholder's notice must be delivered
to or mailed and  received by the  Secretary  of the  Corporation  not less than
thirty-five  (35)  days nor more than  sixty  (60)  days  prior to the  meeting;
provided,  however, that in the event that less than forty-five (45) days notice
or  prior  public  disclosure  of the  date of the  meeting  is given or made to
stockholders,  notice by the  stockholder  to be timely must be so received  not
later than the close of  business  on the tenth day  following  the day on which
such notice of the date of the meeting was mailed or such public  disclosure was
made. To be in proper form, a  stockholder's  notice to the Secretary  shall set
forth:

                           (i) the  name  and  address  of the  stockholder  who
                    intends to make the nominations or propose the business and,
                    as the case may be, of the person or persons to be nominated
                    or of the business to be proposed;

<PAGE>

                           (ii)  a  representation  that  the  stockholder  is a
                    holder  of record of stock of the  Corporation  entitled  to
                    vote at such meeting and, if  applicable,  intends to appear
                    in person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate  the person
                    or persons specified in the notice;

                           (iii)   if   applicable,   a   description   of   all
                    arrangements or  understandings  between the stockholder and
                    each  nominee and any other  person or persons  (naming such
                    person  or  persons)  pursuant  to which the  nomination  or
                    nominations are to be made by the stockholder;

                           (iv) such other information regarding each nominee or
                    each matter of  business to be proposed by such  stockholder
                    as would be required  to be  included  in a proxy  statement
                    filed  pursuant  to the proxy  rules of the  Securities  and
                    Exchange  Commission  had the  nominee  been  nominated,  or
                    intended to be nominated,  or the matter been  proposed,  or
                    intended to be proposed by the Board of Directors; and

                           (v) if  applicable,  the  consent of each  nominee to
                    serve as director of the Corporation if so elected.

          The Chairman of the meeting shall refuse to acknowledge the nomination
of any person or the proposal of any business  not made in  compliance  with the
foregoing procedure.

          2.6       MANNER OF GIVING NOTICE; AFFIDAVIT OF NOTICE

          Written  notice of any meeting of  stockholders  shall be given either
personally  or  by   first-class   mail  or  by  telegraphic  or  other  written
communication.  Notices not personally  delivered  shall be sent charges prepaid
and shall be addressed  to the  stockholder  at the address of that  stockholder
appearing on the books of the  Corporation  or given by the  stockholder  to the
Corporation for the purpose of notice. Notice shall be deemed to have been given
at the  time  when  delivered  personally  or  deposited  in the mail or sent by
telegram or other means of written communication.

          An affidavit of the mailing or other means of giving any notice of any
stockholders'  meeting,  executed by the Secretary,  assistant  secretary or any
transfer  agent of the  Corporation  giving  the  notice,  shall be prima  facie
evidence of the giving of such notice.

          2.7       QUORUM

          The  holders of a  majority  in voting  power of the stock  issued and
outstanding  and entitled to vote thereat,  present in person or  represented by
proxy,  shall  constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stock  holders for the
transaction  of  business  except as  otherwise  provided  by  statute or by the
Certificate  of  Incorporation.  If,  however,  such  quorum is not  present  or
represented at any meeting of the stockholders,  then either (i) the chairman of
the meeting or (ii) the stockholders entitled to vote thereat, present in

<PAGE>



person or  represented  by proxy,  shall have power to  adjourn  the  meeting in
accordance with Section 2.8 of these bylaws.

          When a quorum is present at any meeting,  the vote of the holders of a
majority of the stock having  voting power present in person or  represented  by
proxy shall decide any question brought before such meeting, unless the question
is one upon which, by express  provision of the laws of the State of Delaware or
of the  Certificate  of  Incorporation  or these  bylaws,  a  different  vote is
required,  in which case such  express  provision  shall  govern and control the
decision of the question.

          If a quorum be initially  present,  the  stockholders  may continue to
transact business until  adjournment,  notwithstanding  the withdrawal of enough
stockholders  to leave less than a quorum,  if any action taken is approved by a
majority of the stockholders initially constituting the quorum.

          2.8       ADJOURNED MEETING; NOTICE

          When a meeting is adjourned  to another  time and place,  unless these
bylaws otherwise  require,  notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if
the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment
is taken.  At the adjourned  meeting the  Corporation  may transact any business
that might have been transacted at the original  meeting.  If the adjournment is
for more than thirty (30) days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is
fixed for the  adjourned  meeting,  a notice of the  adjourned  meeting shall be
given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting.

          2.9       VOTING

          The stockholders entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders shall
be determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.11 of these bylaws,
subject to the provisions of Sections 217 and 218 of the General Corporation Law
of  Delaware  (relating  to voting  rights of  fiduciaries,  pledgors  and joint
owners, and to voting trusts and other voting agreements).

          Except  as  may  be   otherwise   provided  in  the   Certificate   of
incorporation,  each stockholder shall be entitled to one vote for each share of
capital stock held by such stockholder.

          2.10      WAIVER OF NOTICE

          Whenever  notice is required to be given  under any  provision  of the
General Corporation Law of Delaware or the Certificate of Incorporation or these
bylaws,  a written  waiver  thereof,  signed by the person  entitled  to notice,
whether before or after the time stated therein,  shall be deemed  equivalent to
notice.  Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice
of such  meeting,  except  when the  person  attends a meeting  for the  express
purpose of objecting, at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any
business  because the meeting is not lawfully  called or  convened.  Neither the
business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting
of the stockholders  need be specified in any written waiver of notice unless so
required by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws.

<PAGE>

          2.11      RECORD DATE FOR STOCKHOLDER NOTICE; VOTING

          For purposes of determining the stockholders entitled to notice of any
meeting or to vote thereat, the Board of Directors may fix, in advance, a record
date,  which  shall not precede  the date upon which the  resolution  fixing the
record  date is adopted by the Board of  Directors  and which  shall not be more
than  sixty  (60) days nor less than ten (10) days  before  the date of any such
meeting,  and in such event only stockholders of record on the date so fixed are
entitled to notice and to vote,  notwithstanding  any  transfer of any shares on
the books of the Corporation after the record date.

          If the Board of Directors  does not so fix a record  date,  the record
date for determining  stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting
of  stockholders  shall be at the close of  business  on the  business  day next
preceding  the day on which  notice is given,  or, if notice is  waived,  at the
close of  business  on the  business  day next  preceding  the day on which  the
meeting is held.

          A determination  of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to
vote at a meeting of stockholders  shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting
unless the Board of Directors fixes a new record date for the adjourned meeting,
but the  Board of  Directors  shall  fix a new  record  date if the  meeting  is
adjourned  for more than  thirty  (30)  days from the date set for the  original
meeting.

          The record date for any other  purpose shall be as provided in Section
8.1 of these bylaws.

          2.12      PROXIES

          Every person  entitled to vote for directors,  or on any other matter,
shall  have  the  right  to do so  either  in  person  or by one or more  agents
authorized  by a written proxy signed by the person and filed with the Secretary
of the  Corporation,  but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three
(3) years from its date unless the proxy provides for a longer  period.  A proxy
shall be deemed signed if the stockholder's name is placed on the proxy (whether
by manual signature,  typewriting,  telegraphic  transmission,  telefacsimile or
otherwise)  by  the  stockholder  or  the  stockholder's  attorney-in-fact.  The
revocability of a proxy that states on its face that it is irrevocable  shall be
governed by the provisions of Section 212(e) of the General  Corporation  Law of
Delaware.

          2.13      ORGANIZATION

          The President, or in the absence of the President, the Chairman of the
Board, or, in the absence of the President and the Chairman of the Board, one of
the Corporation's vice presidents, shall call the meeting of the stockholders to
order,  and  shall  act as  chairman  of the  meeting.  In  the  absence  of the
President,  the  Chairman  of the  Board,  and all of the vice  presidents,  the
stockholders  shall  appoint a chairman  for such  meeting.  The chairman of any
meeting of stockholders shall determine the order of business and the procedures
at the meeting, including such matters as the regulation of the manner of voting
and the conduct of  business.  The  Secretary  of the  Corporation  shall act as
secretary  of all  meetings  of the  stockholders,  but  in the  absence  of the
Secretary  at any meeting of the  stockholders,  the chairman of the meeting may
appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.


<PAGE>



          2.14      LIST OF STOCKHOLDERS ENTITLED TO VOTE

          The  officer  who has  charge of the stock  ledger of the  Corporation
shall  prepare  and  make,  at least  ten (10)  days  before  every  meeting  of
stockholders,  a  complete  list  of the  stockholders  entitled  to vote at the
meeting,  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  and  showing  the  address of each
stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder.
Such list shall be open to the examination of any  stockholder,  for any purpose
germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours, for a period of at least
ten (10) days prior to the meeting,  either at a place within the city where the
meeting  is to be held,  which  place  shall be  specified  in the notice of the
meeting, or, if not so specified,  at the place where the meeting is to be held.
The list shall also be  produced  and kept at the time and place of the  meeting
during the whole time thereof,  and may be inspected by any  stockholder  who is
present.

                                   ARTICLE III

                                    DIRECTORS

          3.1       POWERS

          Subject to the provisions of the General  Corporation  Law of Delaware
and any  limitations  in the  Certificate  of  Incorporation  and  these  bylaws
relating  to  action  required  to be  approved  by the  stockholders  or by the
outstanding shares, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed
and all  corporate  powers shall be  exercised by or under the  direction of the
Board of directors.

          3.2       NUMBER OF DIRECTORS

          The Board of Directors  shall be six until  changed by an amendment to
this bylaw, duly adopted by the Board of Directors or by the stockholders, or by
a duly adopted amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation.

          No reduction  of the  authorized  number of  directors  shall have the
effect of removing any director before that director's term of office expires.

          3.3       ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE OF DIRECTORS

          Except as provided in Section 3.4 of these bylaws,  directors shall be
elected at each annual  meeting of  stockholders  to hold office  until the next
annual meeting. Each director, including a director elected or appointed to fill
a vacancy,  shall hold office until the expiration of the term for which elected
and until a successor has been elected and qualified.

          3.4       RESIGNATION AND VACANCIES

          Any director  may resign  effective  on giving  written  notice to the
Chairman of the Board,  the President,  the Secretary or the Board of Directors,
unless the notice specifies a later time for that

<PAGE>

resignation to become  effective.  If the resignation of a director is effective
at a future time,  the Board of  Directors  may elect a successor to take office
when the resignation becomes effective.

          Vacancies in the Board of Directors may be filled by a majority of the
remaining  directors,  even  if  less  than a  quorum,  or by a  sole  remaining
director; however, a vacancy created by the removal of a director by the vote of
the stockholders or by court order may be filled only by the affirmative vote of
a majority of the shares  represented and voting at a duly held meeting at which
a quorum is  present  (which  shares  voting  affirmatively  also  constitute  a
majority of the required  quorum).  Each  director so elected  shall hold office
until the next annual meeting of the stockholders and until a successor has been
elected and qualified.

          Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these
bylaws:

                    (i) Vacancies and newly created directorships resulting from
any  increase  in the  authorized  number  of  directors  elected  by all of the
stockholders  having  the  right to vote as a single  class  may be  filled by a
majority of the directors then in office,  although less than a quorum,  or by a
sole remaining director.

                   (ii) Whenever the holders of any class or classes of stock or
series  thereof are entitled to elect one or more directors by the provisions of
the Certificate of Incorporation,  vacancies and newly created  directorships of
such class or classes  or series  may be filled by a majority  of the  directors
elected by such class or classes or series thereof then in office,  or by a sole
remaining director so elected.

         If at any time, by reason of death or resignation  or other cause,  the
Corporation  should  have no  directors  in  office,  then  any  officer  or any
stockholder or an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian of a stockholder,
or other fiduciary  entrusted with like  responsibility for the person or estate
of a stockholder,  may call a special meeting of stockholders in accordance with
the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, or may apply
to the Court of Chancery for a decree summarily ordering an election as provided
in Section 211 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware.

         If,  at  the  time  of  filling  any  vacancy  or  any  newly   created
directorship,  the directors then in office  constitute  less than a majority of
the whole board (as constituted  immediately  prior to any such increase),  then
the Court of Chancery may, upon  application of any  stockholder or stockholders
holding at least ten (10)  percent of the total number of the shares at the time
outstanding  having  the right to vote for such  directors,  summarily  order an
election to be held to fill any such  vacancies or newly created  directorships,
or to replace the directors chosen by the directors then in office as aforesaid,
which election shall be governed by the provisions of Section 211 of the General
Corporation Law of Delaware as far as applicable.

         3.5      PLACE OF MEETINGS; MEETINGS BY TELEPHONE

         Regular  meetings  of the Board of  Directors  may be held at any place
within or outside the State of Delaware  that has been  designated  from time to
time by resolution of the Board. In the absence of

<PAGE>

such a designation,  regular  meetings shall be held at the principal  executive
office  of the  Corporation.  Special  meetings  of the Board may be held at any
place within or outside the State of Delaware  that has been  designated  in the
notice of the  meeting or, if not stated in the notice or if there is no notice,
at the principal executive office of the Corporation.

         Any meeting, regular or special, may be held by conference telephone or
similar communication  equipment,  so long as all directors participating in the
meeting  can hear one  another;  and all such  directors  shall be  deemed to be
present in person at the meeting.

         3.6      REGULAR MEETINGS

         Regular  meetings of the Board of Directors may be held without  notice
if the  times of such  meetings  are  fixed by the  Board of  Directors.  If any
regular  meeting day shall fall on a legal  holiday,  then the meeting  shall be
held next succeeding full business day.

         3.7      SPECIAL MEETINGS; NOTICE

         Special  meetings of the Board of Directors for any purpose or purposes
may be called at any time by the Chairman of the Board, the President,  any vice
president, the Secretary or any two directors.

         Notice of the time and place of  special  meetings  shall be  delivered
personally  or by  telephone  to each  director or sent by  first-class  mail or
telegram, charges prepaid, addressed to each director at that director's address
as it is shown on the records of the  Corporation.  If the notice is mailed,  it
shall be deposited  in the United  States mail at least four (4) days before the
time of the holding of the meeting. If the notice is delivered  personally or by
telephone or telegram,  it shall be delivered  personally  or by telephone or to
the  telegraph  company at least  forty-eight  (48) hours before the time of the
holding of the meeting.  Any oral notice given personally or by telephone may be
communicated either to the director or to a person at the office of the director
who the person giving the notice has reason to believe will promptly communicate
it to the director.  The notice need not specify the purpose or the place of the
meeting,  if the meeting is to be held at the principal  executive office of the
Corporation.

         3.8      QUORUM

         A majority of the  authorized  number of directors  shall  constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business, except to adjourn as provided in Section
3.10 of these  bylaws.  Every act or decision  done or made by a majority of the
directors  present at a duly held meeting at which a quorum is present  shall be
regarded as the act of the Board of Directors,  subject to the provisions of the
Certificate of Incorporation and other applicable law.

         A meeting  at which a quorum  is  initially  present  may  continue  to
transact  business  notwithstanding  the withdrawal of directors,  if any action
taken is  approved  by at  least a  majority  of the  required  quorum  for that
meeting.

<PAGE>

         3.9      WAIVER OF NOTICE

         Notice of a meeting  need not be given to any  director (i) who signs a
waiver of notice or a consent  to holding  the  meeting  or an  approval  of the
minutes  thereof,  whether before or after the meet ing, or (ii) who attends the
meeting without  protesting,  prior thereto or at its commencement,  the lack of
notice to such  directors.  All such waivers,  consents,  and approvals shall be
filed with the corporate  records or made part of the minutes of the meeting.  A
waiver of notice need not specify the purpose of any regular or special  meeting
of the Board of Directors.

         3.10     ADJOURNMENT

         A majority of the  directors  present,  whether or not  constituting  a
quorum, may adjourn any meeting to another time and place.

         3.11     NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT

         Notice of the time and place of holding an  adjourned  meeting need not
be given unless the meeting is adjourned for more than  twenty-four  (24) hours.
If the meeting is adjourned for more than twenty-four (24) hours, then notice of
the time and place of the adjourned  meeting shall be given before the adjourned
meeting takes place, in the manner specified in Section 3.7 of these bylaws,  to
the directors who were not present at the time of the adjournment.

         3.12     BOARD ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING

         Any action  required or permitted to be taken by the Board of Directors
may be  taken  without  a  meeting,  provided  that  all  members  of the  Board
individually or collectively  consent in writing to that action.  Such action by
written  consent shall have the same force and effect as a unanimous vote of the
Board of Directors.  Such written consent and any counterparts  thereof shall be
filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board.

         3.13     FEES AND COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS

         Directors and members of committees may receive such  compensation,  if
any, for their  services and such  reimbursement  of expenses as may be fixed or
determined by resolution of the Board of Directors.  This Section 3.13 shall not
be construed to preclude any director from serving the  Corporation in any other
capacity as an officer, agent, employee or otherwise and receiving compensa tion
for those services.

         3.14     APPROVAL OF LOANS TO OFFICERS

         The  Corporation  may lend money to, or guarantee any obligation of, or
otherwise  assist any officer or other employee of the Corporation or any of its
subsidiaries,  including  any  officer  or  employee  who is a  director  of the
Corporation  or any of  its  subsidiaries,  whenever,  in  the  judgment  of the
directors,

<PAGE>

such loan,  guaranty or  assistance  may  reasonably  be expected to benefit the
Corporation.  The loan,  guaranty  or other  assistance  may be with or  without
interest  and may be  unsecured,  or  secured  in such  manner  as the  Board of
Directors shall approve,  including,  without limitation,  a pledge of shares of
stock of the Corporation.  Nothing  contained in this section shall be deemed to
deny, limit or restrict the powers of guaranty or warranty of the Corporation at
common law or under any statute.

                                   ARTICLE IV

                                   COMMITTEES

         4.1      COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS

         The Board of Directors may, by resolution  adopted by a majority of the
authorized  number of  directors,  designate  one (1) or more  committees,  each
consisting of two or more directors,  to serve at the pleasure of the Board. The
Board may  designate  one (1) or more  directors  as  alternate  members  of any
committee,  who may replace any absent  member at any meeting of the  committee.
The appointment of members or alternate members of a committee requires the vote
of a majority of the  authorized  number of  directors.  Any  committee,  to the
extent provided in the resolution of the Board,  shall have and may exercise all
the powers and  authority  of the Board,  but no such  committee  shall have the
power of authority to:

                  (a) amend the  Certificate  of  Incorporation  (except  that a
committee  may,  to the  extent  authorized  in the  resolution  or  resolutions
providing  for the issuance of shares of stock adopted by the Board of Directors
as provided in Section 151(a) of the General  Corporation  Law of Delaware,  fix
the designations and any of the preferences or rights of such shares relating to
dividends,   redemption,   dissolution,   any  distribution  of  assets  of  the
Corporation or the conversion  into, or the exchange of such shares for,  shares
of any other class or classes or any other series of the same or any other class
or classes of stock of the Corporation);

                  (b)  adopt an  agreement  of  merger  or  consolidation  under
Sections 251 or 252 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware;

                  (c)  recommend to the stockholders the sale, lease or exchange
of all or substantially all of the Corporation's property and assets;

                  (d)  recommend  to  the  stockholders  a  dissolution  of  the
Corporation or a revocation of a dissolution; or

                  (e) amend the bylaws of the Corporation; and, unless the Board
resolution  establishing  the  committee,  the  bylaws  or  the  Certificate  of
Incorporation  expressly so provide,  no such committee  shall have the power or
authority to declare a dividend, to authorize the issuance of stock, or to adopt
a  certificate  of ownership  and merger  pursuant to Section 253 of the General
Corporation Law of Delaware.

<PAGE>

         4.2      MEETINGS AND ACTION OF COMMITTEES

         Meetings and actions of  committees  shall be governed by, and held and
taken in accordance with, the provisions of Article III of these bylaws, Section
3.5 (place of meetings),  Section 3.6 (regular  meetings),  Section 3.7 (special
meetings  and  notice),  Section 3.8  (quorum),  Section 3.9 (waiver of notice),
Section 3.10  (adjournment),  Section 3.11 (notice of adjournment),  and Section
3.12 (action without meeting),  with such changes in the context of those bylaws
as are  necessary to  substitute  the committee and its members for the Board of
Directors and its members; provided,  however, that the time of regular meetings
of committees  may be determined  either by resolution of the Board of Directors
or by resolution of the committee,  that special meetings of committees may also
be called by resolution  of the Board of  Directors,  and that notice of special
meetings of committees shall also be given to all alternate  members,  who shall
have the right to attend all meetings of the  committee.  The Board of Directors
may adopt rules for the  government of any committee not  inconsistent  with the
provisions of these bylaws.

         4.3      COMMITTEE MINUTES.

         Each  committee  shall keep regular  minutes of its meetings and report
the same to the Board of Directors when required.


                                    ARTICLE V

                                    OFFICERS

         5.1      OFFICERS

         The officers of the Corporation shall be a president, a secretary,  and
a chief financial  officer.  The Corporation may also have, at the discretion of
the Board of Directors,  a chairman of the Board,  one or more vice  presidents,
one or more assistant  secretaries,  one or more assistant treasurers,  and such
other officers as may be appointed in accordance  with the provisions of Section
5.3 of these bylaws. Any number of offices may be held by the same person.

         5.2      ELECTION OF OFFICERS

         The  officers  of  the  Corporation,  except  such  officers  as may be
appointed in  accordance  with the  provisions  of Section 5.3 or Section 5.5 of
these bylaws, shall be chosen by the Board, subject to the rights, if any, of an
officer under any contract of employment.

         5.3      SUBORDINATE OFFICERS

         The Board of  Directors  may appoint,  or may empower the  President to
appoint,  such other  officers as the business of the  Corporation  may require,
each of whom shall hold office for such period, have such authority, and perform
such duties as are  provided in these  bylaws or as the Board of  Directors  may
from time to time determine.


<PAGE>



         5.4      REMOVAL AND RESIGNATION OF OFFICERS

         Subject to the  rights,  if any,  of an officer  under any  contract of
employment,  any officer may be removed,  either with or without  cause,  by the
Board of Directors at any regular or special  meeting of the Board or, except in
case of an officer  chosen by the Board of  Directors,  by any officer upon whom
such power of removal may be conferred by the Board of Directors.

         Any  officer  may  resign at any time by giving  written  notice to the
Corporation.  Any  resignation  shall take  effect at the date of the receipt of
that notice or at any later time specified in that notice; and, unless otherwise
specified  in that  notice,  the  acceptance  of the  resignation  shall  not be
necessary to make it  effective.  Any  resignation  is without  prejudice to the
rights,  if any, of the Corporation under any contract to which the officer is a
party.

         5.5      VACANCIES IN OFFICES

         A  vacancy  in any  office  because  of  death,  resignation,  removal,
disqualification  or any other cause shall be filled in the manner prescribed in
these bylaws for regular appointments to that office.

         5.6      CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

         The  Chairman of the Board,  if such an officer be elected,  shall,  if
present,  preside at meetings of the Board of Directors and exercise and perform
such other  powers and duties as may from time to time be assigned to him by the
Board of  Directors  or as may be  prescribed  by these  bylaws.  If there is no
President,  then the  Chairman  of the Board  shall also be the chief  executive
officer of the  Corporation  and shall have the powers and duties  prescribed in
Section 5.7 of these bylaws.

         5.7      PRESIDENT

         Subject  to such  supervisory  powers,  if any,  as may be given by the
Board of Directors  to the  Chairman of the Board,  if there be such an officer,
the President shall be the chief executive officer of the Corporation and shall,
subject to the  control of the Board of  Directors,  have  general  supervision,
direction, and control of the business and the officers of the Corporation.  The
President shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders  and, in the absence
or  nonexistence  of a chairman  of the Board,  at all  meetings of the Board of
Directors. The President shall have the general powers and duties of manage ment
usually vested in the office of president of a corporation,  and shall have such
other powers and duties as may be  prescribed by the Board of Directors or these
bylaws.

         5.8      VICE PRESIDENTS

         In the absence or disability of the President, the vice presidents,  if
any,  in order of their  rank as fixed  by the  Board of  Directors  or,  if not
ranked, a vice president designated by the Board of Directors, shall perform all
the duties of the President and when so acting shall have all the powers of, and
be subject to all the  restrictions  upon,  the President.  The vice  presidents
shall have such other powers and

<PAGE>



perform  such  other  duties  as from  time to time may be  prescribed  for them
respectively  by the Board of  Directors,  these  bylaws,  the  President or the
Chairman of the Board.

         5.9      SECRETARY

         The  Secretary  shall  keep  or  cause  to be  kept,  at the  principal
executive  office  of the  Corporation  or such  other  place  as the  Board  of
Directors  may  direct,  a book  of  minutes  of all  meetings  and  actions  of
directors,  committees of directors and stockholders. The minutes shall show the
time and place of each meeting, whether regular or special (and, if special, how
authorized  and the notice  given),  the names of those  present  at  directors'
meetings or committee  meetings,  the number of shares present or represented at
stockholders' meetings, and the proceedings thereof.

         The  Secretary  shall  keep,  or  cause to be  kept,  at the  principal
executive  office  of the  Corporation  or at the  office  of the  Corporation's
transfer  agent or  registrar,  as  determined  by  resolution  of the  Board of
Directors, a share register, or a duplicate share register, showing the names of
all stockholders  and their addresses,  the number and classes of shares held by
each, the number and date of certificates evidencing such shares, and the number
and date of cancellation of every certificate surrendered for cancellation.

         The Secretary shall give, or cause to be given,  notice of all meetings
of the stockholders and of the Board of Directors required to be given by law or
by these bylaws. The Secretary shall keep the seal of the Corporation, if one be
adopted, in safe custody and shall have such other powers and perform such other
duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or by these bylaws.

         5.10  CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

         The Chief  Financial  Officer shall keep and  maintain,  or cause to be
kept and  maintained,  adequate and correct books and records of accounts of the
properties and business  transactions of the Corporation,  including accounts of
its  assets,  liabilities,  receipts,  disbursements,  gains,  losses,  capital,
retained  earnings,  and shares.  The books of account  shall at all  reasonable
times be open to inspection by any director.

         The Chief Financial Officer shall deposit all money and other valuables
in the name and to the credit of the Corporation  with such  depositaries as may
be designated by the Board of Directors.  Chief Financial Officer shall disburse
the funds of the Corporation as may be ordered by the Board of Directors,  shall
render to the President and  directors,  whenever they request it, an account of
all of his or her  transactions as Chief Financial  Officer and of the financial
condition of the Corporation,  and shall have such other powers and perform such
other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or these bylaws.


<PAGE>


                                   ARTICLE VI

               INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES,
                                AND OTHER AGENTS

         6.1      INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

         The  Corporation  shall,  to the  maximum  extent  and  in  the  manner
permitted by the General  Corporation  Law of Delaware as the same now exists or
may  hereafter be amended,  indemnify  any person  against  expenses  (including
attorneys' fees), judgments,  fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and
reasonably  incurred in  connection  with any  threatened,  pending or completed
action,  suit,  or  proceeding  in  which  such  person  was or is a party or is
threatened to be made a party by reason of the fact that such person is or was a
director or officer of the  Corporation.  For  purposes of this  Section  6.1, a
"director" or "officer" of the  Corporation  shall mean any person (i) who is or
was a director or officer of the Corporation,  (ii) who is or was serving at the
request  of the  Corporation  as a director  or officer of another  corporation,
partnership,  joint  venture,  trust or  other  enterprise,  or (iii)  who was a
director or officer of a corporation which was a predecessor  corporation of the
Corporation  or of  another  enterprise  at  the  request  of  such  predecessor
corporation.

         The Corporation shall be required to indemnify a director or officer in
connection  with an action,  suit, or proceeding (or part thereof)  initiated by
such  director  or officer  only if the  initiation  of such  action,  suit,  or
proceeding  (or part  thereof) by the director or officer was  authorized by the
Board of Directors of the Corporation.

         The  Corporation  shall pay the expenses  (including  attorney's  fees)
incurred by a director or officer of the Corporation entitled to indemnification
hereunder  in  defending  any  action,  suit or  proceeding  referred to in this
Section 6.1 in advance of its final disposition; provided, however, that payment
of expenses  incurred by a director or officer of the  Corporation in advance of
the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding shall be made only upon
receipt of an  undertaking  by the  director  or  officer  to repay all  amounts
advanced if it should  ultimately be determined  that the director of officer is
not entitled to be indemnified under this Section 6.1 or otherwise.

         The  rights  conferred  on any  person  by this  Article  shall  not be
exclusive of any other  rights  which such person may have or hereafter  acquire
under any statute,  provision of the Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation,
these bylaws,  agreement, vote of the stockholders or disinterested directors or
otherwise.

         Any repeal or modification of the foregoing  provisions of this Article
shall not adversely  affect any right or  protection  hereunder of any person in
respect of any act or  omission  occurring  prior to the time of such  repeal or
modification.


<PAGE>


         6.2      INDEMNIFICATION OF OTHERS

         The Corporation  shall have the power, to the maximum extent and in the
manner  permitted  by the  General  Corporation  Law of Delaware as the same now
exists or may  hereafter  be  amended,  to  indemnify  any  person  (other  than
directors and officers) against expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments,
fines,  and amounts  paid in  settlement  actually  and  reasonably  incurred in
connection  with  any  threatened,   pending  or  completed  action,   suit,  or
proceeding, in which such person was or is a party or is threatened to be made a
party by reason of the fact that such  person is or was an  employee or agent of
the  Corporation.  For purposes of this Section 6.2, an "employee" or "agent" of
the Corporation (other than a director or officer) shall mean any person (i) who
is or was an employee or agent of the Corporation, (ii) who is or was serving at
the request of the  Corporation as an employee or agent of another  corporation,
partnership,  joint  venture,  trust or other  enterprise,  or (iii)  who was an
employee or agent of a corporation  which was a predecessor  corporation  of the
Corporation  or of  another  enterprise  at  the  request  of  such  predecessor
corporation.

         6.3      INSURANCE

         The  Corporation  may purchase and maintain  insurance on behalf of any
person who is or was a director,  officer, employee or agent of the Corporation,
or is or was serving at the request of the  Corporation as a director,  officer,
employee or agent of another corporation,  partnership,  joint venture, trust or
other enterprise  against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred
by him or her in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such,
whether  or not the  Corporation  would have the power to  indemnify  him or her
against such liability  under the provisions of the General  Corporation  Law of
Delaware.


                                   ARTICLE VII

                               RECORDS AND REPORTS

         7.1      MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF RECORDS

         The Corporation shall,  either at its principal  executive office or at
such place or places as designated  by the Board of Directors,  keep a record of
its  stockholders  listing their names and addresses and the number and class of
shares  held by each  stockholder,  a copy of these  bylaws as  amended to date,
accounting books and other records of its business and properties.

         Any  stockholder  of record,  in person or by attorney or other  agent,
shall,  upon written  demand under oath  stating the purpose  thereof,  have the
right during the usual hours for business to inspect for any proper  purpose the
Corporation's stock ledger, a list of its stockholders,  and its other books and
records and to make copies or extracts therefrom.  A proper purpose shall mean a
purpose reasonably related to such person's interest as a stockholder.  In every
instance  where an  attorney or other agent is the person who seeks the right to
inspection, the demand under oath shall be accompanied by a power


<PAGE>



of attorney or such other writing that authorizes the attorney or other agent to
so act on behalf of the stockholder.  The demand under oath shall be directed to
the  Corporation at its registered  office in Delaware or at its principal place
of business.

         7.2      INSPECTION BY DIRECTORS

         Any  director  shall have the right to examine  (and to make copies of)
the  Corporation's  stock ledger, a list of its stockholders and its other books
and  records  for a  purpose  reasonably  related  to his or her  position  as a
director.

         7.3      ANNUAL STATEMENT TO STOCKHOLDERS

         The Board of Directors shall present at each annual meeting, and at any
special meeting of the stockholders when called for by vote of the stockholders,
a full and clear statement of the business and condition of the Corporation.

         7.4      REPRESENTATION OF SHARES OF OTHER CORPORATIONS

         The Chairman of the Board,  if any, the President,  any vice president,
the Chief Financial  Officer,  the Secretary or any assistant  secretary of this
Corporation,  or any other  person  authorized  by the Board of Directors or the
President or a vice president,  is authorized to vote, represent and exercise on
behalf of this  Corporation  all  rights  incident  to any and all shares of the
stock of any other  corporation  or  corporations  standing  in the name of this
Corporation. The authority herein granted may be exercised either by such person
directly  or by any  other  person  authorized  to do so by  proxy  or  power of
attorney duly executed by such person having the authority.

         7.5      CERTIFICATION AND INSPECTION OF BYLAWS

         The original or a copy of these bylaws, as amended or otherwise altered
to  date,  certified  by the  Secretary,  shall  be  kept  at the  Corporation's
principal  executive  office and shall be open to inspection by the stockholders
of the Corporation, at all reasonable times during office hours.


                                  ARTICLE VIII

                                 GENERAL MATTERS

         8.1      RECORD DATE FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN NOTICE AND VOTING

         For  purposes  of  determining  the  stockholders  entitled  to receive
payment of any dividend or other  distribution or allotment of any rights or the
stockholders  entitled  to  exercise  any rights in respect of any other  lawful
action,  the Board of Directors may fix, in advance,  a record date, which shall
not be more than sixty  (60) days  before any such  action.  In that case,  only
stockholders of record at the close


<PAGE>

of  business  on the  date so  fixed  are  entitled  to  receive  the  dividend,
distribution or allotment of rights, or to exercise such rights, as the case may
be,  notwithstanding  any transfer of any shares on the books of the Corporation
after the record  date so fixed,  except as  otherwise  provided  in the General
Corporation Law of Delaware.

         If the  Board of  Directors  does not so fix a  record  date,  then the
record date for  determining  stockholders  for any such purpose shall be at the
close  of  business  on  the  day on  which  the  Board  adopts  the  applicable
resolution.

         8.2      CHECKS; DRAFTS; EVIDENCES OF INDEBTEDNESS

         From time to time, the Board of Directors shall determine by resolution
which person or persons may sign or endorse all checks, drafts, other orders for
payment of money,  notes or other evidences of  indebtedness  that are issued in
the name of or payable to the  Corporation,  and only the persons so  authorized
shall sign or endorse those instruments.

         8.3      CORPORATE CONTRACTS AND INSTRUMENTS:  HOW EXECUTED

         The Board of Directors,  except as otherwise  provided in these bylaws,
may  authorize  any officer or officers,  or agent or agents,  to enter into any
contract  or  execute  any  instrument  in the  name  of and  on  behalf  of the
Corporation;  such  authority may be general or confined to specific  instances.
Unless so  authorized or ratified by the Board of Directors or within the agency
power of an  officer,  no  officer,  agent or  employee  shall have any power or
authority to bind the Corporation by any contract or engagement or to pledge its
credit or to render it liable for any purpose or for any amount.

         8.4      STOCK CERTIFICATES; TRANSFER; PARTLY PAID SHARES

         The shares of the  Corporation  shall be represented  by  certificates,
provided  that  the  Board  of  Directors  of the  Corporation  may  provide  by
resolution  or  resolutions  that some or all of any or all classes or series of
its stock shall be uncertificated shares. Any such resolution shall not apply to
shares represented by a certificate until such certificate is surrendered to the
Corporation.  Notwithstanding  the adoption of such a resolution by the Board of
Directors,  every holder of stock represented by certificates and, upon request,
every holder of uncertificated  shares,  shall be entitled to have a certificate
signed by, or in the name of the Corporation  by, the Chairman or  vice-chairman
of the  Board of  Directors,  or the  President  or  vice-president,  and by the
treasurer or an assistant treasurer,  or the Secretary or an assistant secretary
of such corporation  representing the number of shares registered in certificate
form. Any or all of the  signatures on the  certificate  may be a facsimile.  In
case any officer,  transfer agent or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile
signature  has been placed  upon a  certificate  has ceased to be such  officer,
transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued,  it may be issued
by the  Corporation  with the same  effect  as if he or she were  such  officer,
transfer agent or registrar at the date of issue.

         Certificates  for shares  shall be of such form and device as the Board
of Directors  may designate and shall state the name of the record holder of the
shares represented thereby; its number; date of


<PAGE>

issuance;  the number of shares for which it is issued;  a summary  statement or
reference to the powers,  designations,  preferences  or other special rights of
such  stock  and  the  qualifications,   limitations  or  restrictions  of  such
preferences  and/or rights,  if any; a statement or summary of liens,  if any; a
conspicuous notice of restrictions upon transfer or registration of transfer, if
any; a statement as to any applicable  voting trust agreement;  if the shares be
assessable,  or, if  assessments  are  collectible by personal  action,  a plain
statement of such facts.

         Upon surrender to the Secretary or transfer agent of the Corporation of
a certificate  for shares duly  endorsed or  accompanied  by proper  evidence of
succession,  assignment  or authority  to transfer,  it shall be the duty of the
Corporation to issue a new  certificate to the person entitled  thereto,  cancel
the old certificate and record the transaction upon its books.

         The Corporation may issue the whole or any part of its shares as partly
paid and  subject  to call for the  remainder  of the  consideration  to be paid
therefor.  Upon the face or back of each stock  certificate  issued to represent
any such partly paid shares, or upon the books and records of the Corporation in
the  case  of  uncertificated  partly  paid  shares,  the  total  amount  of the
consideration  to be paid  therefor and the amount paid thereon shall be stated.
Upon the declaration of any dividend on fully paid shares, the Corporation shall
declare a dividend upon partly paid shares of the same class,  but only upon the
basis of the percentage of the consideration actually paid thereon.

         8.5      SPECIAL DESIGNATION ON CERTIFICATES

         If the  Corporation is authorized to issue more than one class of stock
or more than one series of any class,  then the powers,  the  designations,  the
preferences and the relative, participating, optional or other special rights of
each class of stock or series  thereof and the  qualifications,  limitations  or
restrictions  of such  preferences  and/or  rights shall be set forth in full or
summarized on the face or back of the  certificate  that the  Corporation  shall
issue to  represent  such  class or series of stock;  provided,  however,  that,
except as otherwise  provided in Section 202 of the General  Corporation  Law of
Delaware,  in lieu of the foregoing  requirements  there may be set forth on the
face or back of the certificate  that the  Corporation  shall issue to represent
such class or series of stock a  statement  that the  Corporation  will  furnish
without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, the designations,
the  preferences  and the  relative,  participating,  optional or other  special
rights  of each  class  of  stock  or  series  thereof  and the  qualifications,
limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.

         8.6      LOST CERTIFICATES

         Except as provided in this Section 8.6, no new  certificates for shares
shall be issued to replace a previously issued  certificate unless the latter is
surrendered  to the  Corporation  and  canceled  at the same time.  The Board of
Directors  may,  in case any  share  certificate  or  certificate  for any other
security is lost,  stolen or destroyed,  authorize  the issuance of  replacement
certificates  on such terms and  conditions as the Board may require;  the Board
may  require  indemnification  of the  Corporation  secured  by a bond or  other
adequate security  sufficient to protect the Corporation  against any claim that
may be made

<PAGE>


against it, including any expense or liability,  on account of the alleged loss,
theft or  destruction  of the  certificate  or the  issuance of the  replacement
certificate.

         8.7      TRANSFER AGENTS AND REGISTRARS

         The Board of  Directors  may  appoint  one or more  transfer  agents or
transfer  clerks,  and  one or  more  registrars,  each  of  which  shall  be an
incorporated  bank or trust company -- either domestic or foreign,  who shall be
appointed at such times and places as the  requirements  of the  Corporation may
necessitate and the Board of Directors may designate.

         8.8      CONSTRUCTION; DEFINITIONS

         Unless the context requires otherwise, the general provisions, rules of
construction,  and definitions in the General  Corporation Law of Delaware shall
govern the construction of these bylaws. Without limiting the generality of this
provision,  the singular number includes the plural,  the plural number includes
the singular,  and the term "person"  includes both a corporation  and a natural
person.


                                   ARTICLE IX

                                   AMENDMENTS

         The original or other bylaws of the Corporation may be adopted, amended
or repealed by the stockholders entitled to vote or by the Board of Directors of
the  Corporation.  The fact  that  such  power  has been so  conferred  upon the
directors shall not divest the  stockholders of the power, nor limit their power
to adopt, amend or repeal bylaws.

         Whenever an  amendment  or new bylaw is adopted,  it shall be copied in
the book of bylaws with the original  bylaws,  in the appropriate  place. If any
bylaw is repealed,  the fact of repeal with the date of the meeting at which the
repeal was enacted or the filing of the operative  written  consent(s)  shall be
stated in said book.

<PAGE>

                         CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT NO. 1

                                  OF BYLAWS OF

                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.


         The first sentence of Section 3.2 of the Bylaws of this corporation was
amended,  effective  as of June  11,  1997 by the  sole  stockholder  to read as
follows:
       "The Board of Directors shall be one until changed by an amendment
       to this bylaw,  duly  adopted by the Board of  Directors or by the
       stockholders, or by a duly adopted amendment to the Certificate of
       Incorporation."

<PAGE>

                         CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT NO. 2

                                  OF BYLAWS OF

                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.


     The first  sentence  of Section 3.2 of the Bylaws of this  corporation  was
amended,  effective  as of  July  6,  1997 by the  sole  stockholder  to read as
follows:
       "The Board of  Directors  shall be six until  changed,  within the
       limits specified above by an amendment to this bylaw, duly adopted
       by the Board of  Directors  or by the  stockholders,  or by a duly
       adopted amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation."

<PAGE>

                         CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT NO. 3

                                  OF BYLAWS OF

                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.


     The Section 2.3 of the Bylaws of this  corporation was amended by the board
of  directors  effective  as of February  11, 1998 to  eliminate  the ability of
certain stockholders to call stockholder meetings.

<PAGE>

                         CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT NO. 4

                                  OF BYLAWS OF

                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.


         The first sentence of Section 3.2 of the Bylaws of this corporation was
amended,  effective  immediately  before  re-election  of  directors at the 1998
Annual Stockholder  Meeting (May 27, 1998), by the Board of directors to read as
follows:
       "The Board of Directors  shall be five until  changed,  within the
       limits specified above by an amendment to this bylaw, duly adopted
       by the Board of  Directors  or by the  stockholders,  or by a duly
       adopted amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation."






                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.

                        1991 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

                          (as amended January 31, 1999)



         The following  constitute  the  provisions  of the 1991 Employee  Stock
Purchase Plan of PMC-Sierra, Inc.

         1.  Purpose.  The  purpose of the Plan is to provide  employees  of the
Company and its Designated  Subsidiaries  with an opportunity to purchase Common
Stock of the Company through accumulated payroll deductions. It is the intention
of the Company to have the Plan qualify as an  "Employee  Stock  Purchase  Plan"
under  Section  423 of the  Internal  Revenue  Code of  1986,  as  amended.  The
provisions  of the Plan,  accordingly,  shall be  construed  so as to extend and
limit participation in a manner consistent with the requirements of that section
of the Code.

         2.  Definitions.

                  (a)  "Board" shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

                  (b)  "Code" shall mean the Internal  Revenue Code of 1986,  as
amended.

                  (c) "Common Stock" shall mean the Common Stock of the Company.

                  (d)  "Company"  shall  mean   PMC-Sierra,   Inc.,  a  Delaware
corporation.

                  (e)  "Compensation"  shall mean all base  straight  time gross
earnings  plus  payments  for  overtime,  shift  premiums and  commissions,  but
excluding incentive compensation, incentive payments, bonuses, awards, and other
compensation.

                  (f)  "Designated  Subsidiaries"  shall  mean the  Subsidiaries
which have been designated by the Board from time to time in its sole discretion
as eligible to participate in the Plan.

                  (g)  "Employee"  shall  mean any  individual  who is a regular
employee of the Company for  purposes  of tax  withholding  under the Code.  For
purposes of the Plan, the employment relationship shall be treated as continuing
intact while the individual is on sick leave or other leave of absence  approved
by the Company.  Where the period of leave exceeds 90 days and the  individual's
right to  reemployment is not guaranteed  either by statute or by contract,  the
employment  relationship  will be deemed to have  terminated  on the 91st day of
such leave.

                  (h)  "Enrollment  Date"  shall  mean  the  first  day of  each
Offering Period.


                  (i)  "Exercise  Date" shall mean the last day of each Purchase
Period and is either January 1 or June 30 of each year.



<PAGE>

                  (j) "Fair Market Value" shall mean, as of any date,  the value
of Common Stock determined as follows:

                           (1) If the Common Stock is listed on any  established
stock exchange or a national  market system,  including  without  limitation the
National Market System of the National  Association of Securities Dealers,  Inc.
Automated  Quotation  ("NASDAQ")  System,  its Fair  Market  Value  shall be the
closing  sales  price  for such  stock (or the  closing  bid,  if no sales  were
reported),  as quoted on such exchange (or the exchange with the greatest volume
of trading in Common  Stock) or system on the last  market  trading day prior to
the day of such  determination,  as reported in the Wall Street  Journal or such
other source as the Board deems reliable, or;

                           (2) If the  Common  Stock  is  quoted  on the  NASDAQ
system (but not on the National Market System thereof) or is regularly quoted by
a recognized  securities  dealer but selling  prices are not reported,  its Fair
Market  Value shall be the mean  between  the high and low asked  prices for the
Common  Stock  on  the  last  market  trading  day  prior  to the  day  of  such
determination,  as reported in the Wall Street  Journal or such other  source as
the Board deems reliable, or;

                           (3) In the absence of an  established  market for the
Common Stock, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined in good faith by
the Board.

                  (k) "Offering  Period" shall mean the period of  approximately
twenty-four  (24) months during which an option granted pursuant to the Plan may
be  exercised,  except  that the  first  Offering  Period  shall be an  extended
Offering Period of approximately  twenty-six months and one week,  commencing on
about April 24, 1991 and terminating on the last Trading Day of June, 1993.

                  (l)  "Plan" shall mean this Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

                  (m)  "Purchase Price" shall mean an amount equal to 85% of the
Fair Market  Value of a share of Common Stock on the  Enrollment  Date or on the
Exercise  Date,  whichever is lower,  except that if the  Employee  completes an
election  form in the  form of  Exhibit  A to this  Plan  and  files it with the
Company's  payroll  office at least ten (10) business days before the applicable
Exercise Date, the Purchase Price shall mean an amount equal to 100% of the Fair
Market  Value of a share of Common  Stock on the  Enrollment  Date or 85% of the
Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the Exercise Date,  whichever is
lower.  Such an election is only applicable for the Purchase Period as stated on
the election form.

                  (n) "Purchase  Period" shall mean the  approximately six month
period  commencing  after one  Exercise  Date and ending with the next  Exercise
Date,  except  that the first  Purchase  Period  of any  Offering  Period  shall
commence on the Enrollment  Date and end with the next Exercise Date;  provided,
however,  that the first Purchase  Period of the first Offering Period under the
Plan shall be approximately eight months and one week in duration.



<PAGE>


                  (o) "Reserves" shall mean the number of shares of Common Stock
covered by each option under the Plan which have not yet been  exercised and the
number of shares of Common Stock which have been  authorized  for issuance under
the Plan but not yet placed under option.

                  (p)  "Subsidiary"  shall  mean  a  corporation,   domestic  or
foreign, of which not less than 50% of the voting shares are held by the Company
or a  Subsidiary,  whether or not such  corporation  now exists or is  hereafter
organized or acquired by the Company or a Subsidiary.

                  (q)  "Trading  Day" shall mean a day on which  national  stock
exchanges and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation
(NASDAQ) System are open for trading.

         3.  Eligibility.

                  (a) Any  Employee,  as  defined in  paragraph  2, who has been
continuously  employed by the Company for at least three (3) consecutive  months
and who shall be  employed by the  Company on a given  Enrollment  Date shall be
eligible to participate in the Plan; provided, however, that with respect to the
first Offering  Period under the Plan,  any Employee  employed by the Company on
the Enrollment Date thereof shall be eligible to participate in the Plan.

                  (b)   Any   provisions   of   the   Plan   to   the   contrary
notwithstanding,  no Employee  shall be granted an option under the Plan (i) if,
immediately  after the grant,  such  Employee  (or any other  person whose stock
would be  attributed to such  Employee  pursuant to Section  424(d) of the Code)
would own stock and/or hold  outstanding  options to purchase  stock  possessing
five  percent  (5%) or more of the total  combined  voting power or value of all
classes of stock of the Company or of any  subsidiary  of the  Company,  or (ii)
which  permits his or her rights to  purchase  stock  under all  employee  stock
purchase  plans of the  Company and its  subsidiaries  to accrue at a rate which
exceeds Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) worth of stock (determined at the
fair market  value of the shares at the time such  option is  granted)  for each
calendar year in which such option is outstanding at any time.

         4.  Offering  Periods.  The Plan shall be  implemented  by  consecutive
Offering  Periods,  with the first Offering Period  beginning April 24, 1991 and
continuing  unless  terminated in accordance with the Plan. The Board shall have
the power to change the  duration of  Offering  Periods  with  respect to future
offerings  without  stockholder  approval if such change is  announced  at least
fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled  beginning of the first Offering Period
to be affected.  Absent action by the Board, each Offering Period shall be for a
period of approximately  twenty-four  months (24) and new Offering Periods shall
commence on the first Trading Day of January and July of each year;  except that
the first Offering Period under the Plan shall be approximately  twenty-six (26)
months and one (1) week in duration and shall commence on April 24, 1991.


<PAGE>


         5.  Participation.

                  (a) An eligible  Employee may become a participant in the Plan
by completing a subscription  agreement  authorizing  payroll  deductions in the
form of Exhibit B to this Plan and filing it with the Company's  payroll  office
at least ten (10) business days prior to the applicable  Enrollment Date, unless
a later time for filing the  subscription  agreement is set by the Board for all
eligible Employees with respect to a given Offering Period.

                  (b) Payroll deductions for a participant shall commence on the
first payroll  period  following the  Enrollment  Date and shall end on the last
payroll  period  in  the  Offering  Period,  unless  sooner  terminated  by  the
participant as provided in paragraph 10.

         6.  Payroll Deductions.

                  (a) At the time a  participant  files his or her  subscription
agreement, he or she shall elect to have payroll deductions made on each pay day
during the Offering  Period in an amount not  exceeding ten percent (10%) of the
Compensation  which he or she  receives  on each  pay day  during  the  Offering
Period,  and the aggregate of such payroll deductions during the Offering Period
shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the participant's Compensation during said
Offering Period.

                  (b) All payroll  deductions  made for a  participant  shall be
credited  to his or her  account  under the Plan and will be  withheld  in whole
percentages  only. A participant may not make any additional  payments into such
account.

                  (c) A participant may discontinue his or her  participation in
the Plan as provided in  paragraph  10, or may  decrease  the rate of his or her
payroll deductions during the current Purchase Period by filing with the Company
a new subscription  agreement  authorizing a decrease in payroll deduction rate.
The  decrease  in rate shall be  effective  with the first full  payroll  period
following  ten  (10)  business  days  after  the  Company's  receipt  of the new
subscription  agreement  unless the Company  elects to process a given change in
participation  more quickly.  A participant  may increase the rate of his or her
payroll  deductions for an upcoming Purchase Period by filing with the Company a
new  subscription  agreement  authorizing an increase in payroll  deduction rate
within ten (10)  business  days of the  commencement  of the  upcoming  Purchase
Period.  A  participant's  subscription  agreement  shall  remain in effect  for
successive  Purchase Periods and Offering Periods unless  terminated as provided
in  paragraph  10.  The  Board  shall be  authorized  to  limit  the  number  of
participation rate changes during any Offering Period.

                  (d) Notwithstanding the foregoing,  to the extent necessary to
comply  with  Section  423(b)(8)  of the  Code  and  paragraph  3(b)  herein,  a
participant's  payroll deductions may be decreased to 0% at such time during any
Purchase Period which is scheduled to end during the current  calendar year (the
"Current  Purchase  Period") that the aggregate of all payroll  deductions which
were previously used to purchase stock under the Plan in a prior Purchase Period
which ended during that  calendar year plus all payroll  deductions  accumulated
with respect to the Current  Purchase Period equal $21,250.  Payroll  deductions
shall  recommence  at the  rate  provided  in  such  participant's  subscription
agreement at the  beginning of the first  Purchase  Period which is scheduled to
end in the following  calendar  year,  unless  terminated by the  participant as
provided in paragraph 10.



<PAGE>


                  (e) At the time the option is exercised,  in whole or in part,
or at the time some or all of the  Company's  Common Stock issued under the Plan
is disposed of, the participant  must make adequate  provision for the Company's
federal, state, or other tax withholding  obligations,  if any, which arise upon
the exercise of the option or the  disposition of the Common Stock. At any time,
the Company may, but will not be obligated to,  withhold from the  participant's
compensation the amount necessary for the Company to meet applicable withholding
obligations, including any withholding required to make available to the Company
any tax  deductions  or benefit  attributable  to sale or early  disposition  of
Common Stock by the Employee.

         7.  Grant of Option.  On the Enrollment  Date of each Offering  Period,
each eligible Employee participating in such Offering Period shall be granted an
option to purchase on each  Exercise  Date during such  Offering  Period (at the
applicable  Purchase  Price) up to a number of  shares of the  Company's  Common
Stock  determined by dividing such  Employee's  payroll  deductions  accumulated
prior to such Exercise Date and retained in the Participant's  account as of the
Exercise Date by the applicable Purchase Price;  provided that in no event shall
an Employee be permitted  to purchase  during each  Purchase  Period more than a
number of shares  determined  by dividing  $12,500 by the fair market value of a
share of the Company's Common Stock on the Enrollment Date, and provided further
that such purchase shall be subject to the limitations set forth in Section 3(b)
and 12 hereof.  Exercise  of the option  shall  occur as  provided in Section 8,
unless the  participant  has  withdrawn  pursuant  to Section 10, and the option
shall expire on the last day of the Offering Period.

         8.  Exercise of Option. Unless a participant withdraws from the Plan as
provided in  paragraph  10 below,  his or her option for the  purchase of shares
will be exercised automatically on each Exercise Date, and the maximum number of
full shares  subject to option shall be purchased  for such  participant  at the
applicable  Purchase Price with the accumulated payroll deductions in his or her
account.  No  fractional  shares  will  be  purchased;  any  payroll  deductions
accumulated  in a  participant's  account which are not sufficient to purchase a
full share  shall be retained in the  participant's  account for the  subsequent
Purchase Period, subject to earlier withdrawal by the participant as provided in
paragraph  10. Any other monies left over in a  participant's  account after the
Exercise  Date shall be  returned  to the  participant.  During a  participant's
lifetime,  a participant's  option to purchase  shares  hereunder is exercisable
only by him or her.

         9.  Delivery.  As promptly as  practicable  after each Exercise Date on
which a purchase of shares  occurs,  the Company  shall  arrange the delivery to
each  participant,   as  appropriate,  a  certificate  representing  the  shares
purchased upon exercise of his or her option.


<PAGE>

         10. Withdrawal; Termination of Employment.

                  (a) A  participant  may withdraw all but not less than all the
payroll  deductions  credited to his or her account and not yet used to exercise
his or her  option  under the Plan at any time by giving  written  notice to the
Company in the form of Exhibit C to this Plan. All of the participant's  payroll
deductions  credited  to his or her  account  will be  paid to such  participant
promptly after receipt of notice of withdrawal and such participant's option for
the Offering  Period will be  automatically  terminated,  and no further payroll
deductions  for the purchase of shares will be made during the Offering  Period.
If a participant withdraws from an Offering Period,  payroll deductions will not
resume at the beginning of the succeeding Offering Period unless the participant
delivers to the Company a new subscription agreement.

                  (b) Upon a  participant's  ceasing to be an  Employee  for any
reason  or upon  termination  of a  participant's  employment  relationship  (as
described  in  Section   2(g)),   the  payroll   deductions   credited  to  such
participant's  account  during the Offering  Period but not yet used to exercise
the option will be returned  to such  participant  or, in the case of his or her
death,  to the person or persons  entitled  thereto under paragraph 14, and such
participant's option will be automatically terminated.

         11. Interest.  No interest shall accrue on the payroll  deductions of a
participant in the Plan.

         12. Stock.

                  (a) The maximum number of shares of the Company's Common Stock
which shall be made available for sale under the Plan shall be 1,310,000 shares,
plus an annual  increase  to be added on  January 1 of each year,  beginning  on
January 1, 1999, equal to the lesser of (i) 1% of the outstanding shares on such
date, (ii) 500,000 shares, or (iii) an amount  determined by the Board,  subject
to  adjustment  upon  changes in  capitalization  of the  Company as provided in
paragraph 18. During any Purchase  Period under the Plan,  the maximum number of
shares of the  Company's  Common  Stock which shall be made  available  for sale
under the Plan during such Purchase Period shall be 120,000 shares, which number
of shares shall apply as a cumulative  limit to the number of shares which shall
be made available for sale under all Purchase Periods  occurring  simultaneously
under  separate  Offering  Periods under the Plan,  subject to  adjustment  upon
changes in  capitalization  as provided in paragraph 18. If on a given  Exercise
Date the number of shares  with  respect to which  options  are to be  exercised
exceeds the number of shares then  available  under the Plan,  the Company shall
make a pro rata allocation of the shares remaining  available for purchase in as
uniform  a manner  as  shall be  practicable  and as it  shall  determine  to be
equitable.

                  (b) The  participant  will have no interest or voting right in
shares covered by his option until such option has been exercised.

                  (c) Shares to be  delivered  to a  participant  under the Plan
will  be  registered  in the  name  of the  participant  or in the  name  of the
participant and his or her spouse.


<PAGE>

         13. Administration.

                  (a) Administrative Body. The Plan shall be administered by the
Board of the Company or a  committee  of members of the Board  appointed  by the
Board.  The Board or its committee  shall have full and exclusive  discretionary
authority to construe,  interpret  and apply the terms of the Plan, to determine
eligibility  and to adjudicate all disputed  claims filed under the Plan.  Every
finding, decision and determination made by the Board or its committee shall, to
the full extent permitted by law, be final and binding upon all parties. Members
of the Board who are eligible  Employees  are  permitted to  participate  in the
Plan, provided that:

                           (1)  Members  of  the  Board  who  are   eligible  to
participate in the Plan may not vote on any matter affecting the  administration
of the Plan or the grant of any option pursuant to the Plan.

                           (2) If a Committee is  established  to administer the
Plan, no member of the Board who is eligible to participate in the Plan may be a
member of the Committee.

                  (b) Rule 16b-3 Limitations.  Notwithstanding the provisions of
Subsection  (a) of this  Section  13, in the event that Rule  16b-3  promulgated
under  The  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  as  amended,  or any  successor
provision ("Rule 16b-3") provides specific  requirements for the  administrators
of plans of this type, the Plan shall be only administered by such a body and in
such a manner as shall comply with the  applicable  requirements  of Rule 16b-3.
Unless permitted by Rule 16b-3, no discretion concerning decisions regarding the
Plan shall be afforded to any committee or person that is not "disinterested" as
that term is used in Rule 16b-3.

         14. Designation of Beneficiary.

                  (a)  A  participant  may  file  a  written  designation  of  a
beneficiary   who  is  to  receive  any  shares  and  cash,  if  any,  from  the
participant's  account under the Plan in the event of such  participant's  death
subsequent  to an Exercise  Date on which the option is  exercised  but prior to
delivery to such participant of such shares and cash. In addition, a participant
may file a written  designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any cash from
the  participant's  account  under the Plan in the  event of such  participant's
death  prior to  exercise of the  option.  If a  participant  is married and the
designated  beneficiary is not the spouse, spousal consent shall be required for
such designation to be effective.

                  (b) Such  designation  of  beneficiary  may be  changed by the
participant  (and his or her spouse,  if any) at any time by written notice.  In
the event of the death of a  participant  and in the  absence  of a  beneficiary
validly   designated  under  the  Plan  who  is  living  at  the  time  of  such
participant's  death,  the Company  shall deliver such shares and/or cash to the
executor  or  administrator  of the  estate  of the  participant,  or if no such
executor or administrator  has been appointed (to the knowledge of the Company),
the  Company,  in its  discretion,  may deliver  such shares  and/or cash to the
spouse or to any one or more dependents or relatives of the  participant,  or if
no spouse,  dependent  or relative is known to the  Company,  then to such other
person as the Company may designate.



<PAGE>


         15. Transferability.   Neither   payroll   deductions   credited  to  a
participant's account nor any rights with regard to the exercise of an option or
to  receive  shares  under the Plan may be  assigned,  transferred,  pledged  or
otherwise  disposed of in any way (other  than by will,  the laws of descent and
distribution or as provided in paragraph 14 hereof) by the participant. Any such
attempt at assignment,  transfer,  pledge or other  disposition shall be without
effect,  except  that the  Company may treat such act as an election to withdraw
funds from an Offering Period in accordance with paragraph 10.

         16.  Use of  Funds.  All  payroll  deductions  received  or held by the
Company under the Plan may be used by the Company for any corporate purpose, and
the Company shall not be obligated to segregate such payroll deductions.

         17.  Reports.   Individual   accounts   will  be  maintained  for  each
participant  in the Plan.  Statements of account will be given to  participating
Employees  at least  annually,  which  statements  will set forth the amounts of
payroll  deductions,  the Purchase Price, the number of shares purchased and the
remaining cash balance, if any.

         18. Adjustments Upon Changes in Capitalization,  Dissolution, Merger or
Asset Sale.

                  (a) Changes in Capitalization.  Subject to any required action
by the stockholders of the Company,  the Reserves as well as the price per share
of Common  Stock  covered by each  option  under the Plan which has not yet been
exercised, shall be proportionately adjusted for any increase or decrease in the
number of issued shares of Common Stock  resulting  from a stock split,  reverse
stock split,  stock  dividend,  combination  or  reclassification  of the Common
Stock, or any other increase or decrease in the number of shares of Common Stock
effected  without receipt of consideration  by the Company;  provided,  however,
that conversion of any convertible securities of the Company shall not be deemed
to have been "effected without receipt of consideration".  Such adjustment shall
be made by the  Board,  whose  determination  in that  respect  shall be  final,
binding and conclusive.  Except as expressly  provided  herein,  no issue by the
Company of shares of stock of any class, or securities  convertible  into shares
of stock of any class,  shall affect,  and no adjustment by reason thereof shall
be made with respect to, the number or price of shares of Common  Stock  subject
to an option.  The Board may, if it so  determines  in the  exercise of its sole
discretion,  make provision for adjusting the Reserves, as well as the price per
share of Common  Stock  covered  by each  outstanding  option,  in the event the
Company effects one or more reorganizations, recapitalizations, rights offerings
or other increases or reductions of shares of its outstanding Common Stock.

                   (b) Dissolution or Liquidation.  In the event of the proposed
dissolution or liquidation of the Company,  the Offering  Periods will terminate
immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed action,  unless otherwise
provided by the Board.



<PAGE>


                  (c) Merger or Asset Sale.  In the event of a proposed  sale of
all or  substantially  all of the  assets of the  Company,  or the merger of the
Company  with or into another  corporation,  each option under the Plan shall be
assumed  or  an  equivalent  option  shall  be  substituted  by  such  successor
corporation or a parent or subsidiary of such successor corporation,  unless the
Board  determines,  in the exercise of its sole  discretion  and in lieu of such
assumption or substitution,  to shorten the Offering Periods then in progress by
setting a new Exercise Date (the "New Exercise Date"). If the Board shortens the
Offering  Periods then in progress in lieu of assumption or  substitution in the
event of a merger or sale of assets,  the Board shall notify each participant in
writing,  at  least  ten (10)  days  prior to the New  Exercise  Date,  that the
Exercise  Date for his option has been changed to the New Exercise Date and that
his option will be  exercised  automatically  on the New Exercise  Date,  unless
prior to such date he has  withdrawn  from the  Offering  Period as  provided in
paragraph 10. For purposes of this  paragraph,  an option granted under the Plan
shall be deemed to be assumed if,  following  the sale of assets or merger,  the
option confers the right to purchase,  for each share of option stock subject to
the option  immediately prior to the sale of assets or merger, the consideration
(whether stock,  cash or other  securities or property)  received in the sale of
assets or merger by holders of Common  Stock for each share of Common Stock held
on the  effective  date of the  transaction  (and if such holders were offered a
choice of  consideration,  the type of consideration  chosen by the holders of a
majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock); provided,  however, that if
such  consideration  received  in the sale of assets or  merger  was not  solely
common stock of the successor  corporation  or its parent (as defined in Section
424(e)  of the  Code),  the  Board  may,  with  the  consent  of  the  successor
corporation and the  participant,  provide for the  consideration to be received
upon  exercise  of the  option  to be  solely  common  stock  of  the  successor
corporation  or  its  parent  equal  in  fair  market  value  to the  per  share
consideration  received  by  holders  of  Common  Stock in the sale of assets or
merger.

         19. Amendment or Termination.

                  (a) The Board of  Directors of the Company may at any time and
for any reason terminate or amend the Plan.  Except as provided in paragraph 18,
no such  termination  can affect options  previously  granted,  provided that an
Offering Period may be terminated by the Board of Directors on any Exercise Date
if the  Board  determines  that  the  termination  of the  Plan  is in the  best
interests of the Company and its  stockholders.  Except as provided in paragraph
18, no amendment  may make any change in any option  theretofore  granted  which
adversely  affects the rights of any  participant.  To the extent  necessary  to
comply with Rule 16b-3 or under Section 423 of the Code (or any  successor  rule
or provision  or any other  applicable  law or  regulation),  the Company  shall
obtain stockholder approval in such a manner and to such a degree as required.

                  (b) Without  stockholder consent and without regard to whether
any participant rights may be considered to have been "adversely  affected," the
Board (or its committee) shall be entitled to change the Purchase Periods and/or
Offering  Periods,  limit the  frequency  and/or number of changes in the amount
withheld during Purchase Periods and/or Offering Periods, establish the exchange
ratio  applicable  to amounts  withheld in a currency  other than U.S.  dollars,
permit payroll  withholding in excess of the amount  designated by a participant
in order to adjust  for  delays  or  mistakes  in the  Company's  processing  of
properly  completed  withholding  elections,  establish  reasonable  waiting and
adjustment  periods and/or  accounting  and crediting  procedures to ensure that
amounts  applied  toward  the  purchase  of Common  Stock  for each  participant
properly  correspond with amounts withheld from the participant's  Compensation,
and  establish  such  other  limitations  or  procedures  as the  Board  (or its
committee) determines in its sole discretion advisable which are consistent with
the Plan.



<PAGE>


         20. Notices.  All notices or other  communications  by a participant to
the Company  under or in  connection  with the Plan shall be deemed to have been
duly given when  received in the form  specified by the Company at the location,
or by the person, designated by the Company for the receipt thereof.

         21. Conditions Upon Issuance of Shares. Shares shall not be issued with
respect to an option  unless the  exercise of such option and the  issuance  and
delivery of such  shares  pursuant  thereto  shall  comply  with all  applicable
provisions  of law,  domestic or foreign,  including,  without  limitation,  the
Securities  Act of 1933,  as amended,  the  Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder,  and the requirements
of any stock  exchange  upon which the  shares may then be listed,  and shall be
further  subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such
compliance.

                  As a condition to the  exercise of an option,  the Company may
require the person  exercising  such option to represent and warrant at the time
of any such exercise that the shares are being purchased only for investment and
without  any  present  intention  to sell or  distribute  such shares if, in the
opinion of counsel for the Company,  such a representation is required by any of
the aforementioned applicable provisions of law.

         22. Term of Plan.  The Plan shall become  effective upon the earlier to
occur  of its  adoption  by the  Board  of  Directors  or  its  approval  by the
stockholders  of the Company.  It shall  continue in effect for a term of twenty
(20) years unless sooner terminated under paragraph 19.

         23. Additional  Restrictions of Rule 16b-3. The terms and conditions of
options granted  hereunder to, and the purchase of shares by, persons subject to
Section 16 of the Exchange Act shall comply with the  applicable  provisions  of
Rule  16b-3.  This Plan  shall be  deemed to  contain,  and such  options  shall
contain,  and the shares issued upon exercise  thereof shall be subject to, such
additional  conditions  and  restrictions  as may be  required  by Rule 16b-3 to
qualify for the  maximum  exemption  from  Section 16 of the  Exchange  Act with
respect to Plan transactions.

         24.  Automatic  Transfer to Low Price  Offering  Period.  To the extent
permitted  by Rule 16b-3 of the  Exchange  Act, if the Fair Market  Value of the
Common Stock on any Exercise  Date in an Offering  Period is lower than the Fair
Market Value of the Common Stock on the Enrollment Date of such Offering Period,
then all participants in such Offering Period shall be  automatically  withdrawn
from such  Offering  Period  immediately  after the exercise of their options on
such Exercise Date and  automatically  re-enrolled in the immediately  following
Offering Period as of the first day thereof

<PAGE>


                                    EXHIBIT A

                                  ELECTION FORM



         The  undersigned  participant in the Offering Period of the PMC-Sierra,
Inc. 1991 Employee  Stock  Purchase Plan which began on  ______________,  _____,
elects a Purchase  Price equal to 100%, and not 85%, of the Fair Market Value of
a share of Common Stock on the  Enrollment  Date or 85% of the Fair Market Value
on the Exercise  Date,  whichever is lower,  for the Purchase  Period  ending on
_______________, _____.only.


         All  capitalized  terms have the meaning  they have in the  PMC-Sierra,
Inc. 1991 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

         Any tax consequences  arising from this election,  from the purchase of
shares  or  from  any  other  event  or act  hereunder  (of the  Company  or the
undersigned)  shall  be  borne  solely  by  the  undersigned.   The  undersigned
acknowledges that the undersigned did not rely on the Company for tax advice and
should consult a tax advisor before making this election.


                                      -------------------------------
                                      Name of Participant


                                      -------------------------------

                                      -------------------------------
                                      Address of Participant


                                      -------------------------------
                                      Signature


                                      -------------------------------
                                      Date

         Please  fill-in and file with the Company's  payroll office at least 10
business days before the Exercise Date.



<PAGE>


                                    EXHIBIT B


                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.

                        1991 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

                             SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT



_____ Original Application                          Enrollment Date: ___________
_____ Change in Payroll Deduction Rate
_____ Change of Beneficiary(ies)



1.       I,___________________, hereby elect to  participate in the  PMC-Sierra,
         Inc. 1991 Employee Stock  Purchase Plan (the  "Employee  Stock Purchase
         Plan") and  subscribe  to purchase  shares of  PMC-Sierra,  Inc.'s (the
         "Company" ) Common Stock in accordance with this Subscription Agreement
         and the Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

2.       I hereby authorize payroll  deductions from each paycheck in the amount
         of ____% of my  Compensation  on each payday (not to exceed 10%) during
         the Offering  Period in  accordance  with the Employee  Stock  Purchase
         Plan. (Please note that no fractional percentages are permitted.)


3.       I understand that said payroll  deductions shall be accumulated for the
         purchase of shares of Common  Stock at the  applicable  Purchase  Price
         determined  in  accordance  with the Employee  Stock  Purchase  Plan. I
         understand  that if I do not  withdraw  from an  Offering  Period,  any
         accumulated  payroll deductions will be used to automatically  exercise
         my option.

4.       I have received a copy of the complete "PMC-Sierra,  Inc. 1991 Employee
         Stock  Purchase  Plan."  I  understand  that  my  participation  in the
         Employee Stock Purchase Plan is in all respects subject to the terms of
         the Plan.  I  understand  that the grant of the  option by the  Company
         under this Subscription  Agreement is subject to obtaining  stockholder
         approval of the Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

5.       Shares  purchased for me under the Employee  Stock Purchase Plan should
         be issued in the name(s) of (employee and/or spouse only): ____________
         _______________________________________________________________________


<PAGE>


6.       (For US taxpayers  only) I  understand  that if I dispose of any shares
         received by me pursuant to the Plan within 2 years after the Enrollment
         Date (the first day of the  Offering  Period  during  which I purchased
         such  shares)  or  within 1 year  after the  Exercise  Date (the date I
         purchased  such  shares),  I will be  treated  for  federal  income tax
         purposes  as  having  received  ordinary  income  at the  time  of such
         disposition  in an amount  equal to the excess of the fair market value
         of the shares at the time such  shares  were  delivered  to me over the
         price which I paid for the shares. I hereby agree to notify the Company
         in  writing  within  30 days  after the date of any  disposition  of my
         shares and I will make adequate  provision for Federal,  State or other
         tax withholding  obligations,  if any, which arise upon the disposition
         of the Common  Stock.  The Company may,  but will not be obligated  to,
         withhold  from  my  compensation  the  amount  necessary  to  meet  any
         applicable  withholding  obligation including any withholding necessary
         to make  available  to the  Company  any  tax  deductions  or  benefits
         attributable  to sale or early  disposition of Common Stock by me. If I
         dispose of such shares at any time after the  expiration  of the 1-year
         and 2-year holding periods described above, I understand that I will be
         treated for federal income tax purposes as having  received income only
         at the time of such disposition,  and that such income will be taxed as
         ordinary  income only to the extent of an amount equal to the lesser of
         (1) the  excess of the fair  market  value of the shares at the time of
         such  disposition  over the purchase price which I paid for the shares,
         or (2) 15% of the fair  market  value of the shares on the first day of
         the Offering Period.  The remainder of the gain, if any,  recognized on
         such disposition will be taxed as capital gain.


7.       I hereby agree to be bound by the terms of the Employee  Stock Purchase
         Plan. The  effectiveness  of this  Subscription  Agreement is dependent
         upon my eligibility to participate in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

8.       In the  event of my  death,  I hereby  designate  the  following  as my
         beneficiary(ies)  to receive all  payments  and shares due me under the
         Employee Stock Purchase Plan:



NAME:  (Please print) __________________________________________________________
                           (First)            (Middle)              (Last)


__________________________________         _____________________________________
Relationship

                                           _____________________________________
                                           (Address)




NAME:  (Please print) __________________________________________________________
                           (First)            (Middle)              (Last)


__________________________________         _____________________________________
Relationship

                                           _____________________________________
                                           (Address)


Employee's Social
Security Number:                           _____________________________________



Employee's Address:                        _____________________________________

                                           _____________________________________

                                           _____________________________________


I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS SUBSCRIPTION  AGREEMENT SHALL REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGHOUT
SUCCESSIVE OFFERING PERIODS UNLESS TERMINATED BY ME.



Dated:_________________________            _____________________________________
                                           Signature of Employee


                                           _____________________________________
                                           Spouse's Signature (If beneficiary
                                           other than spouse)


<PAGE>



                                    EXHIBIT C


                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.

                        1991 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

                              NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL



         The  undersigned  participant in the Offering Period of the PMC-Sierra,
Inc. 1991 Employee Stock Purchase Plan which began on ____________,  19____ (the
"Enrollment  Date") hereby notifies the Company that he or she hereby  withdraws
from the  Offering  Period.  He or she hereby  directs the Company to pay to the
undersigned as promptly as practicable  all the payroll  deductions  credited to
his or her  account  with  respect  to such  Offering  Period.  The  undersigned
understands  and agrees that his or her option for such Offering  Period will be
automatically  terminated.  The undersigned  understands further that no further
payroll  deductions  will be made for the  purchase  of  shares  in the  current
Offering  Period  and the  undersigned  shall  be  eligible  to  participate  in
succeeding Offering Periods only by delivering to the Company a new Subscription
Agreement.

                                           Name and Address of Participant

                                           _________________________________

                                           _________________________________

                                           _________________________________


                                          Signature


                                           _________________________________


                                           Date: ___________________________



                                PMC-SIERRA, INC.
                              LIST OF SUBSIDIARIES


1. PMC-Sierra Ltd., organized under the laws of British Columbia, doing business
only under its official name.

2. PMC-Sierra,  Inc.  (Portland),  organized under the laws of  Delaware,  doing
business only under its official name.

3. PMC-Sierra  (Maryland),  Inc.,  organized  under the laws of Delaware,  doing
business only under its official name.

4. PMC-Sierra  International Inc.,  organized under the laws of Barbados,  doing
business only under its official name.

5. PMC-Sierra,  Inc. (U.S.),  organized  under  the laws  of  Washington,  doing
business only under its official name.

6. PMC-Sierra Europe Ltd., organized under the laws of the United Kingdom, doing
business only under its official name.

7. Sierra Semiconductor B.V., organized under the laws of The Netherlands, doing
business only under its official name.





               CONSENT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP, INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


We consent to the  incorporation  by  reference in the  Registration  Statements
(Form S-3 Nos. 33-86930, 33-90392, 33-96620, 33-97490, 333-15519 and 333-55989),
and in the Registration Statements (Form S-8 Nos. 33-41027, 33-80988, 333-13387,
33-80992, 33-94790, 333-13359,  333-34671,  333-13357,  333-55983 and 333-55991)
pertaining to the 1991 Employee Stock  Purchase  Plan, the 1994 Incentive  Stock
Plan, the PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Portland) 1996 Stock Option Plan of PMC-Sierra, Inc.
(formerly Sierra  Semiconductor  Corporation),  and 1998 PMC-Sierra  (Maryland),
Inc.  Stock  Option Plan and in the related  Prospectuses,  of our report  dated
January 22, 1997,  with respect to the  consolidated  financial  statements  and
schedule  of  PMC-Sierra,   Inc.  (formerly  Sierra  Semiconductor  Corporation)
included in this Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 1998.



/s/ ERNST & YOUNG LLP

San Jose, California
March 25, 1999




             CONSENT OF DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP, INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


We consent to the  incorporation  by  reference in the  Registration  Statements
(Form S-3 Nos. 33-86930, 33-90392, 33-96620, 33-97490, 333-15519 and 333-55989),
and in the Registration Statements (Form S-8 Nos. 33-41027, 33-80988, 333-13387,
33-80992, 33-94790, 333-13359,  333-34671,  333-13357,  333-55983 and 333-55991)
pertaining to the 1991 Employee Stock  Purchase  Plan, the 1994 Incentive  Stock
Plan, the PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Portland) 1996 Stock Option Plan of PMC-Sierra, Inc.
(formerly Sierra  Semiconductor  Corporation),  and 1998 PMC-Sierra  (Maryland),
Inc.  Stock  Option Plan and in the related  Prospectuses,  of our report  dated
January 22, 1997,  with respect to the  consolidated  financial  statements  and
schedule  of  PMC-Sierra,   Inc.  (formerly  Sierra  Semiconductor  Corporation)
included in this Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 1998.




/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Vancouver, B.C.
March 24, 1998


<TABLE> <S> <C>


<ARTICLE>                     5
<LEGEND>
         THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE
         FORM 10-K FILED FOR THE YEAR ENDED  DECEMBER  27, 1998 AND IS QUALIFIED
         IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REFERENCE TO SUCH FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</LEGEND>
<MULTIPLIER>                                 1,000
       
<S>                                    <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE>                               12-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END>                      Dec-27-1998
<PERIOD-START>                         Dec-29-1997
<PERIOD-END>                           Dec-27-1998
<CASH>                                     33,943 
<SECURITIES>                               50,893 
<RECEIVABLES>                              27,355 
<ALLOWANCES>                               (1,128)
<INVENTORY>                                 3,617 
<CURRENT-ASSETS>                          122,520 
<PP&E>                                     58,251 
<DEPRECIATION>                            (26,656)
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<CURRENT-LIABILITIES>                      54,905 
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                           0 
                                     0 
<COMMON>                                       31 
<OTHER-SE>                                125,901 
<TOTAL-LIABILITY-AND-EQUITY>              197,298 
<SALES>                                   161,812 
<TOTAL-REVENUES>                          161,812 
<CGS>                                      38,220 
<TOTAL-COSTS>                              38,220 
<OTHER-EXPENSES>                          106,522 
<LOSS-PROVISION>                                0 
<INTEREST-EXPENSE>                            958 
<INCOME-PRETAX>                            19,993 
<INCOME-TAX>                               22,871 
<INCOME-CONTINUING>                        (2,878)
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<NET-INCOME>                               (2,878)
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</TABLE>


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