November 11 2009:
GigOptix Inc. reports it has completed the acquisition of ChipX Inc. (formerly known as ChipExpress), a privately-held fabless semiconductor company providing custom ICs to Military, Aerospace, Medical and Industrial customers.October 28 2009:
Intelleflex, a leader in Extended Capability RFID, announced that they have reached a definitive agreement with Maxim Integrated Products that will result in the transfer of a Maxim engineering team, a body of design works and related IP to Intelleflex in return for Maxim receiving an equity position in Intelleflex. In addition, Intelleflex and Maxim will partner on certain go-to-market activities in the future. In total, seven engineers from Maxim will be joining the team at Intelleflex, and will be based in Dallas, TX and at Intelleflex's headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.October 05 2009:
IQE plc, a supplier of advanced wafer products and wafer services to the semiconductor industry, is to acquire UK based NanoGaN Limited.
NanoGaN has established a range of unique processes and key intellectual property relating to gallium nitride (GaN) materials and devices. This includes its proprietary Nanocolumn Technology for producing high quality, free-standing gallium nitride substrates, which are critical for manufacturing high quality blue and green semiconductor lasers and ultra high brightness LEDs for Solid State Lighting (SSL).September 08 2009:
Atheros Communications, Inc. and Intellon Corporation announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement for Atheros to acquire Intellon in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $244 million, or $181 million net of Intellon's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of June 30, 2009.
By combining Atheros' wireless LAN and Ethernet products with Intellon's market-leading PLC products, Atheros will further drive the adoption of universal, easy-to-use, networking solutions throughout the digital home.
As a provider of HomePlug compatible products, Intellon's extensive experience in delivering PLC solutions has enabled it to build a strong portfolio of products and intellectual property. By leveraging the Intellon team's experience, Atheros will further expand its ability to serve the needs of the digitally-connected consumer, as well as extend its opportunities for growth in new applications and markets, including Ethernet-over-Coax and smart grid solutions.September 07 2009:
Advanced Technology Investment Company LLC (ATIC) and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (Chartered) announced a definitive agreement whereby ATIC would acquire Chartered. Chartered will be folded into GlobalFoundries.
ATIC is a technology investment company wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi. This acquisition is its second major investment in the semiconductor industry and follows the company's March 2009 creation of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, a U.S.-headquartered, leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing company and a joint venture with AMD. The acquisition of Chartered will be made through ATIC International Investment Company LLC, a subsidiary of ATIC. Once the transaction is completed, ATIC will be the sole owner of Chartered. The transaction will allow ATIC to build on the complementary platforms of Chartered and GLOBALFOUNDRIES, with Chartered's customer relationships and capabilities in both 8-inch and 12-inch fabrication, and GLOBALFOUNDRIES' advanced technology expertise, capacity profile and global footprint.September 03 2009:
TriQuint announced its acquisition of TriAccess Technologies, a provider of Cable TV (CATV) and Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) integrated circuits for the amplification of high quality multimedia content. TriAccess, located in Santa Rosa, CA, expands TriQuint's product line for Triple-play internet, video and voice services. TriAccess has seen doubling demand as cable and telco companies race to enhance their network build-outs and deliver high-speed multimedia content.
TriQuint previously served as TriAccess' foundry supplier.August 19 2009:
Robert Bosch North America agreed today to acquire Akustica, Inc.,
an innovator in the application of CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) MEMS (micro electro-mechanical systems) technology in the consumer electronics market. Terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.
Akustica is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company develops and sells a complete portfolio of digital and analog micro electromechanical microphones featuring CMOS MEMS technology. This innovative technology allows the integration of transducer elements and associated integrated circuits on a single Silicon chip. Bosch is the world leader in MEMS sensors and, with this acquisition, further strengthens its position in this market.August 18 2009:
Malaysia's Key ASIC Berhad has signed a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Taiwan's Gateway Silicon Inc. (GSI) to acquire the company in a cash transaction.
GSI is a subsidiary of Macronix International Co. Ltd., a semiconductor supplier in Taiwan. Gateway is a fabless ASIC house, based in Hsinchu. GSI has developed a portfolio of analog and memory IP focused in graphics and video applications.August 14 2009:
Abilis Systems, a Kudelski Group company, and a pioneer RF semiconductor company, announced the acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor CMOS Modulators and Silicon Tuner product lines. The acquisition of these assets will allow Abilis to expand its portfolio of silicon- based digital TV (DTV) and tuner solutions and better address the needs of the growing digital TV market, and in particular of digital terrestrial (DTT) and cable platforms.August 04 2009:
Intersil Corporation, a leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Quellan, Inc., a privately held leader in the design of high performance analog signal processing integrated circuits (ICs). Quellan's innovative Q:ACTIVE® technology delivers unmatched signal integrity for improved system throughput and density with dramatically reduced power consumption.
Quellan, a Santa Clara, California company founded in 2000, utilizes a proprietary Collaborative Signal Processing (CSP) architecture to apply adaptive noise cancellation and equalization within the analog domain. This unique approach enables Quellan's ICs to address signal loss, dispersion, skew and noise in high-speed signal processing applications. Quellan's Q:ACTIVE technology will provide improved performance, smaller footprint and lower power solutions for communications and networking infrastructure, high-performance computing, storage and consumer electronics applications.July 14 2009:
AuthenTec, a provider of smart fingerprint sensors and solutions, announced that it has completed a transaction to acquire the assets of fingerprint sensor maker Atrua Technologies for approximately $4.9 million in cash. Papers have been filed with the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California to effect the dismissal of all claims pending in AuthenTec's patent infringement suit against Atrua as well as Atrua's counterclaims.
Through this transaction, AuthenTec acquired certain Atrua assets including its "Fingerprint Touch Control" and "Micro Pressure Control" products, as well as technologies and IP associated with the Atrua fingerprint sensor hardware and software. The acquired IP includes more than 30 issued and pending U.S. patents, focused primarily on fingerprint sensor and intelligent touch controls for mobile devices, bringing AuthenTec's total patent portfolio to more than 100 issued and pending U.S. patents.July 10 2009:
Microtune®, Inc. announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Auvitek International, Ltd. for approximately $9 million in cash and stock and with a potential earn-out if certain performance targets are met, all subject to various standard closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close during the month of July.
Microtune, inventor of the single-chip TV tuner, is a supplier of radio frequency (RF) silicon and systems solutions for the cable TV, digital TV (DTV) and automotive entertainment markets.
Auvitek is a supplier of advanced DTV demodulator integrated circuits (ICs) for the HDTV and TV-enabled peripherals markets with primary engineering operations based in Shanghai, China.June 11 2009:
IDT® (Integrated Device Technology, Inc.), a provider of mixed signal semiconductor solutions announced it has purchased the touch sensor technology assets from Leadis Technology. In addition, IDT will also acquire the Leadis Technology intellectual property and employee teams necessary to execute on the existing roadmap for continued touch sensor leadership and success. The transaction closed on June 10, 2009.June 08 2009:
Microsemi Corp. has acquired Nexsem Inc., a designer of high-voltage, DC-to-DC conversion devices.
June 05 2009:
Exar Corporation and Galazar Networks Inc., announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Exar will acquire Galazar Networks - a privately held company based in Canada. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Galazar Networks Inc. is a leading semiconductor vendor focused on Ethernet, DS1/E1, DS3/E3 and SONET/SDH/OTN solutions for carrier grade Ethernet and Multi-Service line cards.
June 03 2009:
Skyworks Solutions Inc., a manufacturer of analog and mixed signal semiconductors, announced its acquisition of Axiom Microdevices Inc., the world's only volume supplier of CMOS-based power amplifiers for mobile phones.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed and will have no significant impact to Skyworks' operating expenses. Accordingly, the company expects the transaction to be earnings per share neutral in fiscal year 2009 and accretive thereafter.
June 01 2009:
NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. and RMI Corporation [Raza Microelectronics Inc.] announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge.June 01 2009:
Prime View International [PVI] announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire E Ink Corporation, the leader in electronic paper display materials and intellectual property for approximately US$215 million. PVI is one of Taiwan's leading suppliers of small and medium sized displays and itself a developer of ePaper display modules.May 14 2009:
Texas Instruments Incorporated will expand its microcontroller (MCU) portfolio with the acquisition of Luminary Micro, a leading supplier of ARM Cortex-M3-based 32-bit MCUs, known as Luminary Micro's Stellaris® family of Cortex-M3 processors.
May 11 2009:
EPCOS AG has acquired the development activities of MEMS microphones from Technitrol, Inc. (MEMS Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems). The asset transfer agreement concluded between the two companies also includes patents.
This acquisition opens up the growth market for miniaturized MEMS microphones to EPCOS. They are used especially in mobile phones and Bluetooth headsets. The market volume of these applications is already in the triple-digit million euro range.
In the future EPCOS will develop, manufacture and sell MEMS microphones worldwide. In contrast, Technitrol will no longer offer MEMS microphones, which were originally established on the market under the brand Sonion, except to fulfill certain limited commitments.April 30 2009:
Microsemi Corporation, a manufacturer of high performance analog mixed signal integrated circuits and high reliability semiconductors, and Endwave Corporation, a provider of high-frequency RF solutions for mobile communications markets, announced that Microsemi has acquired Endwave's defense electronics and security (D&S) business.
Under the terms of the agreement, Microsemi is acquiring the D&S assets for a total equity value of US$28 million in cash plus the assumption of specified liabilities.April 27 2009:
Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. (ISSI) announced it has acquired Enable Semiconductor Corporation, a private Taiwan and Korea based company, formerly a subsidiary of Nanoamp Solutions, Inc. For ISSI, the acquisition adds both ultra low power Single Data Rate (SDR) and Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAMs, and ultra low power Pseudo SRAMs in Known Good Die (KGD) and package format targeted at the portable consumer products market.
Enable Semiconductor provides ISSI with a full range of ultra low power SDR and DDR SDRAMs, with densities from 16Mb to 128Mb, including low voltage (1.8V) and wide bus (x32) options, all available in industrial temperature range and available in KGD format optimized for multichip package (MCP) applications. These ultra low power SDRAMs provide longer battery life by using up to 50% less standby current than low power memories from other manufacturers.April 16 2009:
Tyco Electronics Ltd. announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Wireless Systems business to Harris Corporation for $675 million in cash, subject to final working capital adjustments. Wireless Systems is a developer of large-scale critical communications systems based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology for customers in the public safety, utility, transit and public service industries. The business generated sales of $461 million in fiscal 2008.
April 11 2009:
LSI Corporation announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and certain associated intellectual property of the 3ware® RAID adapter business of Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC) for approximately $20 million in cash.
3ware products include SAS and SATA RAID adapters designed to offer cost-effective, high-performance, high-capacity storage solutions for a broad range of applications. 3ware adapters are sold to end users through a worldwide network of channel partners including leading storage distributors and system builders.March 31 2009:
Trident Microsystems, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG to acquire selected assets of the frame rate converter (FRC), demodulator and audio product lines of Micronas' Consumer Division. The consideration payable to Micronas will consist of 7.0 million shares of Trident common stock and warrants to acquire up to 3.0 million additional Trident shares.March 19 2009:
National Semiconductor Corp. announced it has acquired Act Solar, Inc. a privately held solar energy company that provides power optimization solutions for commercial and utility-scale solar installations.
March 19 2009:
Gennum Corporation and Tundra Semiconductor Corporation announced they have entered into a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition by Gennum of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Tundra, a supplier of system interconnect products and intellectual property (IP) to the world's leading communications, computing and storage companies.February 24 2009:
Exar Corporation and Hifn, Inc. announced hat they have signed a definitive agreement under which Exar will acquire Hifn. Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, Exar will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hifn common stock pursuant to an exchange offer, followed by a second step merger.February 20 2009:
Zilog, Inc. announced the sale for cash of certain of its assets to Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. and Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI). In a simultaneous closing, Maxim acquired technology, intellectual property and assets for Zilog's universal remote control hardware and secure transaction businesses, and UEI acquired technology, intellectual property and assets of Zilog's remote control and universal infrared (IR) database solution. The parties have cross-licensed technology and intellectual property to one another for purposes of the continued conduct of their respective businesses.
As part of the transaction, Maxim and UEI or their affiliates are making employment offers to approximately 128 Zilog employees primarily located in the United States, India and the Philippines. Zilog will retain its classic and flash microcontroller business and Crimzon Connects™. February 11 2009:
Texas Instruments has acquired CICLON Semiconductor Device Corporation, a designer of high-frequency, high-efficiency power MOSFET semiconductors.
Ciclon makes power MOSFETS and RF-based LDMOS (laterally-diffused metal oxide semiconductor) power transistors.February 10 2009:
CSR [Cambridge Silicon Radio] and SiRF entered into a conditional agreement under which SiRF will merge with CSR, increasing the scale of CSR in the high-growth GPS technology market and strengthening CSR's position as a global leader in both Bluetooth and GPS.
SiRF is a market leader in GPS semiconductors with strong hardware, software and systems. SiRF's significant GPS and assisted GPS (A-GPS) patent portfolio complements CSR's extensive patent portfolio in eGPS. The combined strengths of SiRF and CSR will drive forward the innovation of new chips incorporating GPS and position the enlarged CSR group to be able to take a substantial share of the fast growing GPS market in mobile devices. CSR estimates the GPS attach rate to be around 20% of mobile handsets in 2008 and this is expected to double by 2012.January 29 2009:
Effective December 2008, Cirrus Logic has acquired the product families of the Thaler Corporation. Thaler specializes in the design, manufacture, and test of ultra-high precision electronic circuits for high-volume, cost-sensitive commercial applications in a broad range of markets including specialized, radiation-hardened designs for space flight, and high-temperature products for aerospace and oil exploration. Cirrus will market select Thaler products under the company's Apex Precision Power brand which features high power analog hybrids, board-level modules and ICs.January 22 2009:
Maxim Integrated Products announced that it has acquired Innova Card, a privately held, fabless semiconductor company whose focus is advanced secure microcontroller technology for financial terminals.January 20 2009:
Qualcomm Incorporated and AMD announced that Qualcomm has acquired certain graphics and multimedia technology assets, intellectual property and resources that were formerly the basis of AMD's handheld business.January 01 2009:
Rohm Co. Ltd. (Japan) changed its name to Rohm Semiconductor Inc.
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