EXHIBIT 99.1

TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS ANNOUNCES APPROVAL OF
ACQUISITION OF MINORITY INTEREST

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Trident Microsystems, Inc.
(Nasdaq: TRID - News) announced today that it has taken key steps towards the
acquisition of the fully diluted 33% minority interest of Trident's Digital
Television subsidiary -- Trident Technologies Inc. ("TTI"). The Board of
Directors approved the acquisition of substantially all the minority interest,
subject to Trident Microsystems shareholder approval. As part of the
transaction, the Company announced the signing of agreements with investment
related affiliates of United Microelectronics Corporation ("UMC"), collectively
TTI's largest minority shareholders, as well as the board's approval of the
assumption of TTI's employee stock option plan and the completion of a series of
subsidiary treasury stock transactions.
TMI will reacquire approximately 33%, on a fully diluted basis, of its fast
growing Digital Television business. The Company has also determined not to
proceed with a possible spin-off of this business via an IPO. Originally TTI was
organized and capitalized with a planned option to spin the business off as an
IPO in either Taiwan or the United States. However the Board has determined that
such a plan may no longer be in the best interests of the TMI shareholders, and
the parent company is now in a position to acquire the minority interest in a
transaction that will be accretive on a pro forma basis. The reconsolidation of
the company's equity interests will simplify the capital structure of the
company and allow both shareholder interests to benefit.

The company expects the transaction to be accretive on a cash flow, or pro forma
based earnings measurement by approximately $.04 - .05 per share in CY 2005. The
acquisitions of minority interest will require approximately $8.2 million of
cash in total, of which approximately $6 million has already been invested
through treasury stock repurchases by TTI. In addition approximately 4.2 million
net Trident common shares and options, or about 14% dilution, will be added to
Trident's fully diluted shares outstanding. This will be used to convert some of
the shareholdings of UMC's affiliates as well as employee held options and
shares into TMI equity on substantially the same or similar terms. In return for
the cash and stock transactions, the company anticipates that it will eliminate
approximately $3.5 million or more in projected minority interest charges in CY
'05. This amount represents the anticipated allocation of profit to TTI minority
shareholders in the parent company's consolidated financial statements, if the
proposed transaction did not occur. At Trident's current stock price the value
of the acquisition of all the minority interests is estimated at approximately
$73 million of which the company expects to record approximately $40 million as
a non cash deferred charge on the balance sheet associated with the
remeasurement of the value of TTI stock options previously granted to employees
which will be amortized over the remaining vesting period or approximately 3
years via a non cash expense in the company's income statement. This non-cash
amortization is specifically excluded from the pro forma or cash basis
measurement of accretion/dilution referred to above.




The proposal to acquire the minority interest is subject to shareholder approval
and will be described in a proposal to the shareholders to be included in the
annual meeting proxy to be filed within approximately the next 30-45 days. The
company currently hopes to hold it's annual meeting, obtain shareholder approval
and close the acquisition in March or early April 2005.

The Company will discuss this transaction further in its quarterly conference
call to discuss the fiscal Q2 earnings, which will occur on Thursday, January
20, 2005 at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time). Shareholders may
participate via telephone or webcast by CCBN, the details of which will be
announced at a later date.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements
which use the words "expect," "hope," "anticipate," "believe," "potential" and
similar words, including our statements regarding financial expectations. The
forward-looking statements above are subject to certain risks, and actual
results could vary materially depending on a number of factors. These risks
include, in particular, changes in trends in the DPTV industries, changes in
targeted consumer electronics markets such as Digital Television, whether the
Company is able to achieve timely product introductions, the failure to obtain
design wins among major OEMs for the Company products, and competitive
pressures, including pricing and competitors' new product introductions.
Additional factors that may affect the Company's business are described in
detail in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Trident Microsystems, Inc.

Trident Microsystems, Inc., with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, designs,
develops and markets digital media for the masses in the form of integrated
circuits (ICs) for CRT TV, LCD TV, PDP TV, HDTV, and digital set-top box.
Trident's products are sold to a network of OEMs, original design manufacturers
and system integrators worldwide. For further information about Trident and its
products, please consult the company's web site: http://www.tridentmicro.com.

NOTE: Trident is a registered trademark of Trident Microsystems, Inc. All other
company and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their
respective owners. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are
subject to change without notice.

FOR PRESS RELEASES:
Trident Microsystems, Inc.
Investor Relations
Tel:  (408) 991-8090
Email:  Investor@tridentmicro.com
Web site: http://www.tridentmicro.com