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Business News 2016
  • December 22nd 2016:
  • TDK Corporation and InvenSense, Inc. yesterday entered into a definitive agreement wherein TDK agrees to acquire all of the outstanding InvenSense shares for cash at an acquisition price of USD 13.00 per InvenSense share, for a total acquisition price of USD 1.3 billion. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. Completion of the transaction is expected in second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, and is subject to approvals by InvenSense shareholders and the relevant regulatory authorities. The acquisition will be completed through a merger of a newly created subsidiary of TDK with and into InvenSense, with InvenSense continuing following the merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of TDK.
  • December 12th 2016:
  • Teledyne Technologies Incorporated and e2v technologies plc jointly announced that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition to be made by Teledyne for the ordinary share capital of e2v by means of a Scheme of Arrangement. Under the terms of the Offer, e2v's ordinary shareholders will receive 275 pence in cash for each e2v share valuing the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of e2v at approximately £620 million on a fully diluted basis. It is expected that, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all relevant conditions, the acquisition will be completed in the first half of calendar 2017.
  • November 22nd 2016:
  • On November 21st, 2016, MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc., a supplier of high-performance analog RF, microwave, millimeterwave and photonic semiconductor products, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, a leader in Connectivity and Computing solutions for next-generation cloud infrastructure and Data Centers, for approximately $8.36 per share, consisting of $3.25 in cash and 0.1089 MACOM shares per share of AppliedMicro. This price for each share of AppliedMicro represented a 15.4% premium over the company's closing price of $7.25 on Friday, November 18th. MACOM intends to divest the well-positioned but non-strategic Compute business within the first 100 days of closing.
  • November 3rd 2016:
  • On November 2nd Broadcom Limited and Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Broadcom will acquire Brocade, a leader in Fibre Channel storage area network switching and IP networking, for $12.75 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.5 billion, plus $0.4 billion of net debt. Broadcom expects to fund the transaction with new debt financing and cash available on its balance sheet. Broadcom, with the support of Brocade, plans to divest Brocade's IP Networking business, consisting of wireless and campus networking, data center switching and routing, and software networking solutions.
    This transaction represents significant value for our shareholders, who will receive a 47% premium from the Brocade closing share price on Friday, October 28, 2016, and creates new opportunities for our customers and partners, said Lloyd Carney, Chief Executive Officer of Brocade. Our best-in-class FC SAN solutions will help Broadcom create one of the industry's broadest portfolios for enterprise storage. We will work with Broadcom as it seeks to find a buyer for our IP Networking business which includes a full portfolio of open, hardware and software-based solutions spanning the core of the data center to the network edge, he added.
    Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Broadcom's non-GAAP free cash flow and earnings per share. Broadcom currently anticipates that Brocade's FC SAN business will contribute approximately $900 million of pro forma non-GAAP EBITDA in its fiscal year 2018.
  • November 2nd 2016:
  • On November 1st Solomon Systech Limited announced the purchase of advanced mobile touch technology assets and products from Microchip Technology Inc. for an aggregated consideration of US$23 million in cash. The transactions are subject to fulfillment of certain customary closing conditions.
    Under the asset purchase agreement and the product purchase and sale agreement, Solomon Systech has received certain maXTouch® semiconductor products, and a license to sell certain maXTouch® semiconductor products and derivatives, as well as to use the design database and a portfolio of over 500 patents, to serve customers in the mobile touch market. These mobile touch technology assets and semiconductor products are renowned in the touch controller market, with widespread applications in mobile phone, tablet and pad segments. maXTouch® technology is leading, in particular, in the flexible OLED touch controller market.
  • October 28th 2016:
  • On October 27th Analog Devices, Inc. announced the acquisition of Innovasic Inc., a leading provider of Deterministic Ethernet semiconductor and software solutions.
  • October 28th 2016:
  • On October 27th Qualcomm Incorporated and NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced a definitive agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, under which Qualcomm will acquire NXP. Pursuant to the agreement, a subsidiary of Qualcomm will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of NXP for $110.00 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $47 billion.
    The transaction is expected to close by the end of calendar 2017 and is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions and other closing conditions.
  • October 13th 2016:
  • On October 12th, 2016, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and IPDiA S.A. announced that Murata Electronics Europe B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Murata, is about to acquire IPDiA, a 3D silicon capacitor technology pioneer headquartered in France, and IPDiA will become a subsidiary of Murata.
    The transaction is expected to close before the end of October.
    IPDiA, headquartered in Caen, France, was formed in 2009 and has around 130 employees today. The company is dedicated to the manufacturing of leading edge Integrated Passive Devices, specializing in silicon sub-mounts for lighting and 3D silicon capacitors for medical, industrial, communication and high reliability applications. The company operates design centers, sales and marketing offices and a manufacturing facility (silicon wafer FAB) certified ISO 9001 / 14001 / 18001 as well as ISO TS 16949 for the automotive market and ISO 13485 for medical devices.
    As a result of this acquisition, IPDiA will be integrated into Murata, and IPDiA's products and solutions will be commercialized as part of Murata's product portfolio.
  • October 12th 2016:
  • On October 12th, 2016, Infineon Technologies AG annonced that it has acquired 100 percent of Innoluce BV, a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Nijmegen. Based on the know-how of Innoluce, Infineon will develop chip components for high-performance lidar systems. Both companies agreed on confidentiality on the terms.
  • September 12th 2016:
  • Renesas Electronics Corporation and Intersil Corporation today announced they have signed a definitive agreement for Renesas to acquire Intersil for US$22.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate equity value of approximately US$3.2 billion (approximately 321.9 billion yen at an exchange rate of 100 yen to the dollar). The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. Closing of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2017, following approval by Intersil shareholders and the relevant governmental authorities.
  • September 5th 2016 2016:
  • Today Intel Corporation announced the pending acquisition of Movidius Ltd.
  • August 29th 2016:
  • Littelfuse, Inc. today announced it has completed its acquisition of a select product portfolio from ON Semiconductor Corporation. The product portfolio includes transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes, switching thyristors and insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) for automotive ignition applications. The product portfolio has annualized sales of approximately $55 million. The purchase price was $104 million.
  • August 4th 2016:
  • TDK Corporation and Tronics Microsystems SA jointly announced on August 1st, 2016, that TDK's wholly-owned subsidiary EPCOS AG, a manufacturer of electronic components, modules and systems based in Munich, Germany, and Tronics have signed a tender offer agreement pursuant to which EPCOS will launch a public tender offer for all publicly-held shares of Tronics for EUR 13.20 per share. On a fully-diluted equity value basis, the transaction represents a value of Tronics' equity of approximately EUR 48.65 million. This represents a 78.4% premium over Tronics' closing share price on July 7, 2016, the trading day immediately preceding the stock trading suspension, and a 62.1% premium to the volume-weighted average price during the last 60 trading days prior to this suspension.
    The tender offer is expected to be filed at the beginning of September 2016. The effective opening of the tender offer is subject to prior clearance by the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. Its completion is conditional upon EPCOS obtaining 66.67% of the Tronics shares.
    Existing shareholders of Tronics (Sercel Holding, Aster Capital, Innovation Capital, Omnes Capital, CEA Investissement and some founders) have committed to tender shares representing 53.21% of Tronics outstanding shares. Furthermore, members of the management, including Mr. Pascal Langlois, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Tronics, entered into agreements with EPCOS to sell 135'000 shares underlying the stock options and BSPCE they own subject to the success to the tender offer.
    Thales Avionics, which holds a 20.9% stake in Tronics, has informed EPCOS that it wishes to remain a strategic shareholder of Tronics. Consequently, EPCOS and Thales Avionics have initiated discussions to set forth the terms and conditions of their possible future relationships in relation to Tronics, and have agreed, subject to the condition precedent of the success of the tender offer, to enter into a shareholders' agreement at the close of the offer.
    Individual holders of shares subscribed under the TEPA regime will be offered to enter into liquidity arrangements.
  • July 29th 2016:
  • STMicroelectronics today announced that it has acquired ams' assets related to NFC and RFID reader business. ST has acquired intellectual property, technologies, products and business highly complementary to its secure microcontroller solutions serving mobile devices, wearables, banking, identification, industrial, automotive and IoT markets.
    Approximately 50 technical experts from ams [austriamicrosystems AG] have been transferred to ST.
    The acquired assets, combined with ST's secure microcontrollers, position ST for a significant growth opportunity, with a complete portfolio of best-in-class technologies, products and competencies that comprehensively address the full range of the NFC and RFID markets for a wide customer base, the company said.
    ST acquired the ams assets in exchange for a (i) cash payment of $77.8 million (funded with available cash), and (ii) deferred earn-out contingent on future results for which ST currently estimates will be about $13 million but which in any case will not exceed $37 million.
  • July 28th 2016:
  • Analog Devices, Inc. and Linear Technology Corporation announced on July 26th, 2016, that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Analog Devices will acquire Linear Technology in a cash and stock transaction that values the combined enterprise at approximately $30 billion. Upon completion of the acquisition, Analog Devices will be the premier global analog technology company with approximately $5 billion in anticipated annual revenues.
    Under the terms of the agreement, Linear Technology shareholders will receive $46.00 per share in cash and 0.2321 of a share of Analog Devices common stock for each share of Linear Technology common stock they hold at the closing of the transaction. The transaction values Linear Technology at approximately $60.00 per share, representing an equity value for Linear Technology of approximately $14.8 billion.
  • July 26th 2016:
  • ams AG, a provider of high performance sensors and analog ICs, has closed the transaction to acquire 100% of the shares in the color and spectral sensing systems specialist MAZeT GmbH for an undisclosed amount in cash.
  • July 14th 2016:
  • Infineon Technologies AG and Cree, Inc. announced today that Infineon has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Wolfspeed Power and RF division (Wolfspeed) of Cree. The deal also includes the related SiC wafer substrate business for power and RF power. The purchase price for this planned all-cash transaction is US Dollar 850 million (approximately Euro 740 million). This acquisition will enable Infineon to provide the broadest offering in compound semiconductors and will further strengthen Infineon as a leading supplier of power and RF power solutions in high-growth markets such as electro-mobility, renewables and next-generation cellular infrastructure relevant for IoT.
  • June 30th 2016:
  • Rambus Inc. today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Memory Interconnect Business from Inphi Corporation for $90M in cash. The acquisition includes all assets of the Inphi Memory Interconnect Business including product inventory, customer contracts, supply chain agreements and intellectual property. The combined business further strengthens Rambus' market position for memory buffer chip products and amplifies execution for future memory programs to meet the needs of the server, networking and data center market.
  • June 16th 2016:
  • ams AG (austriamicrosystems AG) announced that it has bought Cambridge CMOS Sensors (CCMOSS).
    Ams said it plans to integrate CCMOSS' activities into its existing environmental sensor business, which has development locations in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Reutlingen, Germany.
    Deal terms were not disclosed.
  • June 15th 2016:
  • Cavium, Inc. and QLogic Corp. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Cavium to acquire all of the outstanding QLogic common stock for approximately $15.50 per share, comprised of $11.00 per share in cash and 0.098 of a share of Cavium common stock for each share of QLogic common stock (valued at approximately $4.50 based on the volume weighted average Cavium trading price for the three trading days beginning June 10, 2016), through an exchange offer. The transaction values QLogic at approximately $1.36 billion in equity value, inclusive of approximately $355 million of cash on QLogic's balance sheet, and has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
    The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar year 2016 pending customary closing conditions, including the tender into the exchange offer by QLogic stockholders of shares representing at least a majority of the outstanding shares of QLogic common stock, and the receipt of relevant regulatory approvals, including the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
  • June 6th 2016:
  • Rambus Inc. today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Semtech's Snowbush IP for US$32.5 million as well as additional payments based upon specific new product sales through the end of 2022. Snowbush IP, formerly part of Semtech's Systems Innovation Group, is a leading provider of silicon-proven, high-performance serial link solutions. The acquisition strengthens Rambus' position in high-growth spaces and meets customer needs in the server, networking and data center market.
  • June 2nd 2016:
  • Exar Corporation today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Integrated Memory Logic Limited (iML) subsidiary to Beijing E-Town Chipone Technology Co., Ltd. ("E-Town Chipone"), a consortium comprised of Beijing-based IC design and solutions manufacturer Chipone Technology Co., Ltd ("Chipone") and its financial partner Beijing E-Town International Investment & Development Co., Ltd. ("E-Town Capital"). The purchase price for the transaction is $136 million, net of cash acquired.
  • May 18th 2016:
  • ARM Ltd. has acquired Apical Limited, a designer in imaging and embedded computer vision technology.
    Apical is one of the UK's fastest-growing technology companies and its imaging products are used in more than 1.5 billion smartphones and approximately 300 million other consumer/industrial devices including IP cameras, digital stills cameras and tablets.
    The acquisition closed for a cash consideration of $350 million.
  • April 28th 2016:
  • MaxLinear, Inc. today announced the acquisition of certain assets and the assumption of certain liabilities related to Microsemi Corporation's Broadband Wireless Division, which was previously part of PMC-Sierra, Inc. These acquired assets and assumed liabilities specifically address wireless infrastructure markets, including wideband RF transceivers and synthesizers for 3G, 4G, and future 5G cellular base station and remote radio head (RRH) unit platforms.
    MaxLinear paid approximately $21.0 million in cash and assumed certain liabilities in exchange for the acquired assets. MaxLinear may record charges for amortization of purchased intangible assets in the second quarter of 2016, and expects that it will incur incremental transaction-related deal expenses and expenses associated with post-closing transition services related to the acquisition. The amounts of these charges have not yet been determined. Excluding the charges referenced above, MaxLinear currently expects this transaction to be approximately neutral to GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share in 2016 and to become accretive to GAAP and Non-GAAP earnings per share in 2017.
  • April 28th 2016:
  • Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and Broadcom Limited today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Cypress will acquire Broadcom's Wireless Internet of Things (IoT) business and related assets in an all-cash transaction valued at $550 million. Under the terms of the deal, Cypress will acquire Broadcom's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee IoT product lines and intellectual property, along with its WICED brand and developer ecosystem. Broadcom's IoT business unit, which employs approximately 430 people worldwide, generated $189 million in revenue during the last twelve months.
    The transaction, which has been approved by the board of directors of Cypress and Broadcom, is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2016, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.
  • April 18th 2016:
  • Qorvo® announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held GreenPeak Technologies. The acquisition of Netherlands-based GreenPeak will allow Qorvo to expand its customer offering to include highly integrated RF solutions and systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) for the connected home and the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT).
    GreenPeak will become part of Qorvo's IDP group.
    The transaction is expected to close in the current quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC served as financial advisor to GreenPeak in connection with the transaction.
  • April 14th 2016:
  • During February 2016 Inotera Memories Inc. announced the signing of a definitive agreement to conduct a share swap transaction with Micron Semiconductor Taiwan After closing of the transaction, Inotera will become a unit of Micron and delist from the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
    On April 13th Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has approved the planned merger between Micron Semiconductor Taiwan (MST), a Taiwan-based unit of Micron Technology, and Inotera Memories because Inotera is already a contract supplier of Micron and sells all of its output to the US-based company. Therefore the merger should not have an adverse impact on competition in the DRAM market, FTC claims.
    According to the share-swap agreement, Micron Semiconductor Taiwan will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Inotera for NT$30 (US$0.25) per share in cash. The deal is expected to close in the middle of 2016, Inotera said.
  • April 13th 2016 (addendum):
  • On June 29th, 2015, Amphenol Corporation announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations and has made a binding offer to acquire 100% of the shares of FCI Asia Pte Ltd (FCI) for $1.275 billion.
    On January 8th, 2016, Amphenol Corporation announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of FCI Asia Pte Ltd (FCI) and announced that it will provide an update on the expected impact of the FCI acquisition on January 20, 2016. On April 13th we are still waiting for the promised information.
    On March 1st, 2016, Moody's has withdrawn the ratings following the acquisition of FCI by Amphenol Corporation and the repayment of all outstanding loans.
  • March 17th 2016:
  • Analog Devices, Inc. today announced the acquisition of SNAP Sensor SA, a privately held company based in Switzerland that specializes in highly innovative vision sensing technologies. The acquisition will advance Analog Devices' leadership position in sensing and signal processing and build upon platform-level Internet of Things (IoT) solutions such as ADI's award-winning Blackfin Low Power Imaging Platform (BLiP).
    SNAP Sensor's patented technology offers significant improvements to existing optical sensors by ensuring accurate image detection in challenging lighting conditions. It drastically improves sensing reliability and accuracy in a range of detection, identification, and guidance uses. In addition, much of the image management is performed on the sensor, enabling the use of affordable and lower power processors.
    SNAP Sensor's cutting-edge optical technology and vision software and algorithm expertise allow us to continue unlocking new possibilities for our customers in a wide range of IoT applications such as building automation, building security, city management, transportation, and more, said Michael Murray, general manager of Industrial Sensing, Analog Devices. This acquisition further enhances our sensing portfolio and ensures that we're helping customers realize the best possible outcomes from IoT solutions.
    The SNAP Sensor team will remain in Switzerland to establish a new Analog Devices R&D center and continue its close collaboration with the Swiss research and technology organization CSEM (http://www.csem.ch). Our team is very enthusiastic about joining Analog Devices, said Pascal Dorster, CEO of SNAP Sensor. This provides us access to the engineering, supply-chain, and commercialization resources needed to accelerate our growth and continue advancing our technology vision.
  • January 26th 2016:
  • Sony Corporation announced that it reached an agreement with the shareholders to acquire privately held Israeli LTE chipset vendor Altair Semiconductor for roughly $212 million.
    The deal is expected to close next month, Sony (Tokyo) said.
  • January 20th 2016:
  • On January 19th, 2016, Microchip Technology Incorporated, a provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, and Atmel Corporation announced that Microchip has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Atmel for $8.15 per share in a combination of cash and Microchip common stock.
    The acquisition price represents a total equity value of about $3.56 billion, and a total enterprise value of about $3.40 billion, after excluding Atmel's cash and investments net of debt on its balance sheet of approximately $155.0 million at December 31, 2015.