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Business News 2013
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  • December 16 2013:
    Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the assets of its wireless infrastructure business unit to Intel Corporation. The asset sale was contemplated by the agreement and plan of merger with M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc., announced on November 5, 2013.
  • December 16 2013:
    Avago Technologies Limited and LSI Corporation announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Avago will acquire LSI for $11.15 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.6 billion. The acquisition creates a highly diversified semiconductor market leader with approximately $5 billion in annual revenues by adding enterprise storage to Avago's existing wired infrastructure, wireless and industrial businesses. The combined company will be strongly positioned to capitalize on the growing opportunities created by the rapid increases in data center IP and mobile data traffic.
    Under the terms of the agreement, LSI's stockholders will receive $11.15 in cash for each share of LSI common stock they hold at closing, which is expected to occur during the first half of calendar 2014. Avago intends to fund the transaction with $1.0 billion of cash from the combined balance sheet and fully-committed financing from the following sources:
    $4.6 billion term loan from a group of banks; and
    $1 billion investment from Silver Lake Partners, which is expected to be in the form of a seven year 2% convertible note with a conversion price of $48.04 per share or preferred stock with equivalent economic terms.
    The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is subject to regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions and customary closing conditions, as well as the approval of LSI's stockholders.
    Avago Technologies Limited began as the semiconductor products division of HP and later Agilent Technologies, before being spun off into a distinct legal entity.
  • November 11 2013:
    Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd., an operating subsidiary of Tsinghua Holdings Co., Ltd., a solely state-owned limited liability corporation funded by Tsinghua University in China, and RDA Microelectronics, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets wireless systems-on-chip and radio-frequency (RF) semiconductors for cellular, connectivity and broadcast applications, today jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Tsinghua Unigroup will acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of RDA for US$18.50 per American Depositary Share (or US$3.0833 per ordinary share, each American Depositary Share representing six ordinary shares). The merger values RDA's equity at approximately US$910 million, on a fully diluted basis. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 33.3% over the closing price of RDA's American Depositary Shares on September 26, 2013, the last trading day prior to the announcement by RDA of the receipt of a preliminary non-binding proposal letter to acquire RDA from a third party.
    The transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders of RDA, and antitrust and other regulatory approvals, and is not subject to any financing condition. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2014.
    The Company's Board of Directors unanimously approved the merger agreement and recommends that the Company's shareholders vote to approve the merger agreement. RDA expects to hold a special meeting of its shareholders to consider and act upon the proposed transaction as promptly as practicable. Details regarding the record date for, and the date, time and place of, the special meeting will be included in a press release when finalized.
    "We are very excited to be adding RDA to the Tsinghua Unigroup family of companies," commented Mr. Zhao Weiguo, Chairman and President of Tsinghua Unigroup. "RDA will complement our existing portfolio in consumer products, protection and support and will benefit from our vast IP library and unique access to important capital markets in China."
    "We are delighted to join as a partner with Tsinghua Unigroup," said Mr. Vincent Tai, RDA's co-founder and its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that Tsinghua Unigroup's reach and importance in the market will serve as a further catalyst to accelerate the growth of our business." Mr. Tai continued, "We also believe the merger offers an extremely attractive exit for the Company's shareholders."
    Kilometre Capital acted as strategic consultant advising RDA. Morgan Stanley Asia Limited rendered a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP are legal advisors to RDA. Morrison & Foerster LLP is serving as legal advisor to Tsinghua Unigroup. RDA will furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a Report on Form 6-K regarding the transaction, which will include the merger agreement. All parties desiring details regarding the transaction are urged to review these documents, which will be available at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov).
    This announcement is neither a solicitation of proxies, an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities and it is not a substitute for any proxy statement or other proxy materials that may be filed or furnished with the SEC with respect to the proposed merger.
  • November 05 2013:
    M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (also known as MACOM), a supplier of high performance RF, microwave, and millimeter wave products, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mindspeed Technologies, Inc., a supplier of semiconductor solutions for communications infrastructure applications.
  • October 31 2013:
    Arteris Inc. announced that Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, has acquired certain technology assets from Arteris and hired personnel formerly employed by Arteris.
    As part of the acquisition transaction, Arteris retains the right to license, support and maintain the existing Arteris FlexNoC and Arteris FlexLLI product lines in order to fulfill existing and new licensing contracts. Qualcomm has agreed to make certain FlexNoC updates available to Arteris based upon an agreed upon schedule and provide certain engineering support to Arteris. Arteris has rights to make customer support-related modifications to FlexNoC. There are no changes in Arteris’ contractual obligations or operations with customers or industry partners.
  • October 21 2013:
    Microsemi Corporation and Symmetricom, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Symmetricom, Inc. for $7.18 per share through a cash tender offer, representing a premium of 49 percent based on the average closing price of Symmetricom's shares of common stock during the 90 trading days ended Oct. 18, 2013. The board of directors of Symmetricom unanimously recommends that Symmetricom's stockholders tender their shares in the tender offer.
    The total transaction value is approximately $230 million, net of Symmetricom's projected cash balance at closing.
  • October 14 2013:
    InvenSense, Inc., a provider of MotionTracking™ system on chip devices and Analog Devices, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a definitive purchase agreement for InvenSense to acquire all of the assets of ADI that are exclusively related to ADI's MEMS microphone business line (MBL) including intellectual property, goodwill and certain tangible and intangible assets. InvenSense will also assume certain specified liabilities of ADI related to the MBL.
    The transaction includes approximately 30-40 of ADI's core employees within the MBL product line and certain support operations, located primarily in Wilmington, MA, Bratislava, Slovakia and Shanghai, China. ADI's MBL product line includes all MEMS microphone devices and complete turnkey reference designs.
    In connection with the acquisition, InvenSense will pay $100 million in cash in exchange for ADI's MBL assets. Additional cash consideration may be payable upon achievement over 12 months of certain mutually agreed upon financial targets. The board of directors of each company has approved the transaction and stockholder approval of the transaction is not required by either company. The closing, which is targeted to occur during October 2013, remains subject to customary closing conditions. In connection with the transaction, ADI will provide certain transition related services to InvenSense, which includes supplying MBL inventory for a limited period of time following the sale. InvenSense may record one-time costs for transaction expenses and purchased in-process research and development expenses related to the acquisition in the quarter in which the transaction closes. The amount of those costs, if any, has not yet been determined. Other than these one-time costs, the transaction is not expected to significantly impact earnings for the balance of InvenSense's fiscal year ending March 2014, and is expected to be accretive to earnings thereafter.
  • October 02 2013:
    On October 1st, 2013, Cirrus Logic Inc. announced that it has acquired Acoustic Technologies, Inc. The firm is a leader in embedded firmware voice processing technology, including noise reduction, echo cancelation and voice enhancement.
    Acoustic Technologies has approximately 30 employees who have now joined Cirrus Logic.
  • September 19 2013:
    On September 12th, 2013, II-VI Incorporated acquired the Zürich, Switzerland based semiconductor laser business of Oclaro, Inc. in a transaction valued at $115 million.
    The acquisition provides II-VI with semiconductor laser technology used in industry-leading laser system products including fiber lasers and direct diode lasers for material processing, medical, consumer and fiber optic communication applications.
    The gallium arsenide semiconductor laser business was originated by IBM Zürich and was integrated with the gallium arsenide semiconductor laser assets in Tucson, Arizona acquired from Newport Spectra-Physics in 2009. II-VI will operate the Business as II-VI Laser Enterprise GmbH.
  • September 16 2013:
    Huawei announced its continued investmentment expansion into Europe today through its acquisition of Caliopa from Baekeland, Fidimec, Ghent University, PMV, and other individual shareholders. The deal, which was supported by Woodside Capital Partners, opens the door for research efforts to be boosted in the area of silicon photonics and represents a further step in Huawei's European R&D strategy.
    Huawei will integrate Caliopa into its existing R&D centre in Belgium. The deal, which was completed on 6 August 2013, will give Huawei full ownership of Caliopa.
    Caliopa is based in Ghent (Belgium) and will continue its strong partnership with UGent and imec following this acquisition.
  • September 09 2013:
    Molex Incorporated today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Koch Industries, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Koch Industries will acquire all of Molex's outstanding shares, including the Common Stock (MOLX), the Class A Common Stock (MOLXA) and the Class B Common Stock, for $38.50 per share in cash, for a total equity value of approximately $7.2 billion. Based on the closing stock prices on September 6, 2013, the purchase price represents a 42% premium to the equity value of Molex's publicly-traded stock, specifically a 31% premium to the Common Stock and a 56% premium to the Class A Common Stock.
    At the close of the transaction, Molex will become a standalone subsidiary of Koch Industries and will continue to be operated by the company's current management team. Molex, with a 75-year history of industry-leading product innovation, will retain the company name following the transaction as well as its headquarters in Lisle, Illinois.
  • September 04 2013:
    Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor provider in China with advanced technology in 2G, 3G and 4G wireless communications standards, today announced the results of its extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the "EGM") held on September 4, 2013 in respect of the Company's pending acquisition by Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd. ("Tsinghua Unigroup"). As previously announced on July 12, 2013, Spreadtrum and Tsinghua Unigroup entered into a definitive merger agreement (the "Merger Agreement") pursuant to which the Company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tsinghua Unigroup (the "Merger") and each American depositary share (representing three ordinary shares) will be converted into the right to receive US$31.00 in cash and each ordinary share will be converted into the right to receive US$10.33 in cash.
    At the EGM, shareholders constituting a quorum were present in person or by proxy and approved all of the resolutions proposed in the EGM notice, which included approval of (1) the Merger Agreement, (2) the Plan of Merger required to be filed with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands to give effect to the Merger and (3) the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger. Approximately 58% of the outstanding ordinary shares (including ordinary shares underlying outstanding American depositary shares) voted at the EGM, with approximately 99% of such voted shares voting in favor of these resolutions.
    Completion of the Merger remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of various conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, including antitrust clearance and other PRC regulatory approvals.
  • September 04 2013:
    Broadcom Corporation, a designer in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, announced a definitive agreement to acquire LTE-related assets from affiliates of Renesas Electronics Corporation. The acquisition is expected to accelerate availability of Broadcom's first multimode, carrier-validated LTE SoC platform into early 2014.
    The transaction has been approved by Broadcom and Renesas Electronics' boards of directors, is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close early in the three months ending December 31, 2013.
  • August 16 2013:
    Maxim Integrated announced a definitive agreement to acquire Volterra Semiconductor. Volterra will be acquired for $23 per share in a transaction valued at $605m equity value; $450m enterprise value. Maxim's acquisition of Volterra is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
  • August 15 2013:
    Molex Incorporated announced on August 6th, 2013, that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire FCT Electronics Group, based in Munich, Germany. FCT Electronics Group specializes in designing and manufacturing custom mixed-layout connectors and cable assemblies. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • August 14 2013:
    Intel Corp. confirmed that it acquired last month Fujitsu Semiconductor Wireless Products Inc. (also known as FSWP), the Tempe, Ariz.-based subsidiary of Fujitsu that developed an advanced multimode LTE RF transceiver. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • July 08 2013:
    Exar Corporation announced that it has acquired Cadeka Microcircuits. The transaction, which closed on Friday, July 5, 2013, includes $29.0 million in initial consideration to be paid in a combination of cash and stock, and an earn-out against net revenues contributed by Cadeka.
    With locations in Loveland, Colorado and both Shenzhen and Wuxi, China, Cadeka designs, develops and markets precision analog integrated circuits for use in industrial and high reliability applications. Cadeka provides precision operational amplifiers, instrumentation amplifiers, comparators, filters and data converter products to a wide array of electronic equipment manufacturers in the medical electronics, aerospace, test and measurement, surveillance and industrial control markets.
  • July 02 2013:
    Dialog Semiconductor Plc announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire iWatt Inc. for a cash payment of approximately $310 million, with additional contingent consideration of up to $35 million.
  • June 14 2013:
    Mellanox® Technologies, Ltd., a supplier of end-to-end interconnect solutions for servers and storage systems, announced its intent to acquire privately held IPtronics A/S, a designer in optical interconnect component design for digital communications.
    Mellanox and IPtronics have signed a definitive agreement under which Mellanox will acquire IPtronics at a total cash purchase price of approximately $47.5 million, subject to certain adjustments. The terms of the transaction have been unanimously approved by both the Mellanox and IPtronics Boards of Directors.
    The transaction is currently projected to close in the second half of 2013, subject to the completion of certain closing conditions. Mellanox currently expects the transaction to be accretive to its full fiscal year 2014 earnings by approximately $0.01 to $0.03 per share on a non-GAAP basis. IPtronics products are embedded in Mellanox's current solutions. The IPtronics acquisition enhances Mellanox's ability to deliver complete end-to-end optical interconnect solutions at 100Gb/s and beyond. With IPtronics' high-speed transmitter and receiver devices, Mellanox can offer the complete technology portfolio required to provide cost-effective, high-speed networks and deliver next generation optical connectivity, allowing data center customers to meet the growing demands of applications used in high-performance, Web 2.0, cloud, data center, database, financial services and storage environments.
  • June 07 2013:
    Silicon Labs announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Energy Micro AS. Based in Oslo, Norway. The late-stage privately held company offers the industry's most power-efficient portfolio of 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) and is developing multi-protocol wireless RF solutions based on the industry-leading ARM® Cortex-M architecture. Energy Micro's energy-friendly MCU and radio solutions are designed to enable a broad range of power-sensitive applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), smart energy, home automation, security and portable electronics markets.
    Under the agreement, the shareholders of Energy Micro will receive an up-front payment of US$115 million in cash, plus approximately US$55 million in deferred and earn-out consideration. The acquisition is being funded from balance sheet cash resources and will require no borrowing. Energy Micro is expected to contribute approximately US$7 million in revenue in the second half of 2013.
  • May 15 2013:
    Mellanox® Technologies, Ltd. announced its intent to acquire privately held Kotura, Inc., a developer of advanced silicon photonics optical interconnect technology for high-speed networking applications. Mellanox and Kotura have signed a definitive agreement under which Mellanox will acquire Kotura at a total cash purchase price of approximately $82 million subject to certain adjustments. The terms of the transaction have been unanimously approved by both the Mellanox and Kotura boards of directors.
    The transaction is currently projected to close in the second half of 2013, subject to the completion of certain closing conditions. Mellanox currently expects the transaction to be accretive to its full fiscal year 2014 earnings by approximately $0.01 to $0.03 per share on a non-GAAP basis.
  • May 14 2013:
    Altera Corporation announced it has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Enpirion, Inc., a provider of high-efficiency, integrated power conversion products known as PowerSoCs (power system-on-chip).
    Ashraf Lotfi, founder and CEO of Enpirion, will serve as an Altera Fellow and chief technologist for Altera's newly formed Power business unit.
    Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  • May 08 2013:
    Cadence Design Systems Inc. announced its intent to acquire the IP business of Evatronix SA SKA, adding to its rapidly expanding IP offering. Based in Poland, Evatronix delivers a silicon-proven IP portfolio, which includes certified USB 2.0/3.0, Display, MIPI, and storage controllers, which are highly complementary to Cadence's IP offering.
    The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013, and is not expected to have a material impact on Cadence's balance sheet or second quarter or fiscal 2013 results of operations. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  • April 30 2013:
    Spansion Inc. and Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, announced they have executed a definitive agreement for Spansion to acquire the Microcontroller and Analog Business of Fujitsu Semiconductor for approximately $110 million, plus approximately $65 million for inventory. The net impact is expected to be accretive for Spansion in 2013.
  • April 30 2013:
    Avago Technologies Ltd. announced it acquired Javelin Semiconductor Inc., a provider of power amplifiers (PAs) for wireless communications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • April 07 2013:
    Atmel® Corporation announced that it has completed the acquisition of Integrated Device Technology's smart metering IC product lines and technologies.
    The acquisition includes IDT's Metrology Analog Front End (AFE) and System-On-Chip (SoC) devices for single- and poly-phase energy meters. The smart metering IC product line offers best-in-class single- and poly-phase measurement accuracy with better than 0.1 percent accuracy over 5000:1 dynamic range and complements the existing family of Atmel smart metering offerings. Atmel's smart metering portfolio includes the world's first single-chip power line communications (PLC)-based solution targeting the rapidly growing PRIME smart metering market.
  • April 03 2013:
    Cisco Systems Inc. announced its intent to acquire privately held Ubiquisys Ltd., headquartered in Swindon, U.K. Ubiquisys is a leading provider of intelligent 3G and long-term evolution (LTE) small-cell technologies that provide seamless connectivity across mobile heterogeneous networks for service providers. The acquisition of Ubiquisys further reinforces Cisco's commitment to service providers and strengthens its mobility expertise to deliver more intelligent mobile Internet networks.
    Upon the close of the acquisition, the Ubiquisys employees will be integrated into the Cisco Mobility Business Group, reporting to Partho Mishra, vice president and general manager, Service Provider Small Cell Technology Group. Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $310 million in cash and retention-based incentives to acquire the entire business and operations of Ubiquisys. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2013, subject to customary closing conditions.
  • March 04 2013:
    Advanced Photonix®, a supplier of Optoelectronic components, sub-systems and systems to industry, announced today that it has acquired certain assets of Silonex, Inc. in exchange for a cash payment of $900'000.
    Silonex, Inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of ARCAS Automotive Group (Luxco 1) S.a.r.l.
  • Archived News Pages:
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