Microchip Technology (MCHP) has signed an agreement to buy Atmel (ATML) in the latest billion-dollar deal in the consolidating semiconductor industry.
The $8.15 per share cash-and-stock deal has an equity value of about $3.56 billion.
Microchip’s bid, which was unsolicited, topped a cash-and-stock offer from Dialog Semiconductor (DLGNF) that was worth $4.56 billion when it was announced in September. (Dialog’s share price has since declined.)
“Microchip continues to execute a highly successful consolidation strategy with a string of acquisitions that have helped to double our revenue growth rate compared to our organic revenue growth rate over the last few years,” said Microchip president and CEO Steve Sanghi. “The Atmel acquisition is the latest chapter of our growth strategy.”
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Dialog declined to increase its offer after Atmel announced Microchip’s bid. Atmel had also received an offer from Cypress Semiconductor (CY).
It’s the latest deal in a consolidating semiconductor industry. Last year, NXP Semiconductors bought Freescale Semiconductor for $11.8 billion and Intel acquired Altera for $16.7 billion. Avago Technologies will close its $37 billion Broadcom deal next month.
Atmel manufactures computer chips called microcontrollers that provide computing power for both consumer and enterprise hardware applications.
