Exhibit 99.1

                                          NEWS RELEASE


                                    Contact:    Richard N. Grubb, Executive
                                                Vice President and Chief
                                                Financial Officer or
                                                Robert A. Freece
                                                Senior Vice President
                                                610/644-1300
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                    VISHAY CLOSES ACQUISITION OF BCcomponents

MALVERN, PENNSYLVANIA - December 16, 2002 - Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.
(NYSE:VSH) announced today that it had completed the acquisition of BCcomponents
Holdings B.V., a leading manufacturer of passive components with operations in
Europe, India and the Far East. The product lines of BCcomponents include linear
and non-linear resistors; ceramic, film and aluminum electrolytic capacitors;
and switches and trimming potentiometers. BCcomponents had annual sales in 2001
of approximately $320 million.

Vishay acquired the outstanding shares of BCcomponents in exchange for ten-year
warrants to acquire 7,000,000 shares of Vishay common stock at an exercise price
of $20.00 per share and ten-year warrants to acquire 1,823,529 shares of Vishay
common stock at an exercise price of $30.30 per share.

In the transaction, outstanding obligations of BCcomponents, including
indebtedness and transaction fees and expenses, in the amount of approximately
$224 million were paid or assumed. Also, $105 million in principal amount of
BCcomponents' mezzanine indebtedness and certain other securities of
BCcomponents were exchanged for $105 million principal amount of floating rate
unsecured loan notes of Vishay due 2102. The Vishay notes bear interest at LIBOR
plus 1.5% through December 31, 2006 and at LIBOR thereafter. The notes are
subject to a put and call agreement under which the holders may at any time put
the notes to Vishay in exchange for 6,176,471 shares of Vishay common stock in
the aggregate, and Vishay may call the notes in exchange for cash or for shares
of its common stock after 15 years from the date of issuance. Vishay has granted
registration rights for the warrants and the shares of common stock issuable in
respect of the warrants and the notes.

Vishay obtained the cash required for the transaction with cash of Vishay on
hand, cash of BCcomponents and borrowings under Vishay's long term revolving
bank credit facility. At the same time, the aggregate commitment under this
facility was reduced from $660 million to $500 million, subject to increase
under certain circumstances.

Commenting on the transaction, Dr. Felix Zandman, Chairman and CEO of Vishay,
stated: "We are pleased that the acquisition closed smoothly and on schedule,
and we expect to quickly begin integrating the operations of BCcomponents with
our passive component business in Europe and elsewhere around the world. As we
said when we first announced the transaction, the acquisition of BCcomponents
gives us an

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extensive portfolio of new products, complements our MLCC and tantalum capacitor
lines, offers meaningful opportunities for synergies and cost savings and
enhances our position in passive components generally. We are therefore very
excited about the opportunities presented by this acquisition, which is our
first major acquisition in the passive area in ten years."

Vishay, a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE, is one of the world's
largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors (diodes, rectifiers,
transistors, optoelectronics, and selected ICs) and passive electronic
components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transducers). The Company's
components can be found in products manufactured in a very broad range of
industries worldwide. Vishay is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and has
plants in fourteen countries employing over 20,000 people. Vishay can be found
on the Internet at http://www.vishay.com.

This release contains statements concerning the expected benefits of the
BCcomponents transaction. These forward-looking statements are within the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They
are based on current expectations and are subject to certain risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. Factors that could cause results to differ from
the Company's expectations include those that affect Vishay's passive components
business and its businesses generally. With regard to factors affecting Vishay's
businesses generally, please see the Company's Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2001 that has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.

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