LSI Logic to Buy Agere, a Rival Chip Maker
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LSI Logic hopes the deal, valued at $4 billion, will help it compete in the competitive market for data storage.
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(InfoWorld) - Emulex will buy Sierra LogicÂ to build a bigger enterprise storage portfolio. Emulex said Tuesday it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Sierra Logic for $180 million to expand its position in the embedded storage components market. The acquisition will combine two suppliers of network storage components and may improve the reliability of storage networks that enterprise customers depend on. Sierra's line of embedded bridges and routers will join Emulex's portfolio of embedded switches and multiple protocol input/output controllers. The combination will make Emulex more competitive in selling to storage system makers, said Mike Smith, Emulex's executive vice president for worldwide marketing. Emulex's current customers include Sun Microsystems, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, and Network Appliance. "There is always a trend toward integration, and you can offer more integrated solutions the more pieces you provide. It makes you more of a single, trusted supplier," Smith said. The deal gives Emulex access to key technology developed by Sierra Logic to make SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) storage systems more reliable, said storage industry analyst Arun Taneja, founder of The Taneja Group, in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Fibre Channel disk drives are used in high-end storage environments, while SATA drives are a lower cost alternative. But SATA drives are less reliable than Fibre Channel. Sierra Logic's technology makes SATA more reliable, Taneja said. "Sierra makes a SATA drive look like a Fibre Channel drive but maintains the price advantage of SATA," said Taneja. "Emulex looked at the technology and said 'It's too important to this industry. I want to own it.'" Consistent with its integration strategy, Emulex also acquired Arohi Communications, a maker of data center networking and intelligent storage platforms, in May for $39 million. The Sierra Logic deal is expected to be completed by Sept. 30 and to contribute an incremental $8 million to $10 million in revenues to Emulex in the fourth quarter. Emulex, based in Costa Mesa, California, has about 600 employees worldwide, while Sierra Logic, based in Roseville, California, has 70 employees. Smith expects most of them to come to Emulex, including Sierra Logic Chief Executive Officer Bob Whitson.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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WALTHAM -- A French communications equipment maker has acquired local software developer eDial Inc., the companies announced yesterday.
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Broadcom Corp., one of networking's biggest chip makers, is buying a vendor of production-ready software for network gear.
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Chipmaker to focus on technology and features instead of megahertz.
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German chip maker Infineon Technologies has agreed to buy Texas Instruments' DSL Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)Â business in a deal expected to close by the end of the summer, the companies said.
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Toshiba Corp. (6502.T) said it would buy  microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. ,  ending its exclusive ties with Intel Corp.  for the  supply of the brains that run computers, and sending its shares  higher.
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NEW YORK/TAIPEI  - A private equity consortium led by The Carlyle Group  is planning to make a $5.5 billion bid for the world's biggest microchip packaging firm, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE)  , the companies said on Friday.
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Japan's leading PC maker makes a bet on the upstart chip maker.
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Advanced Micro Devices Inc. hopes to seize a larger share of the server chip market from its rival Intel Corp. on Monday when it launches the Barcelona quad-core processor.
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Agere Systems Inc., which makes computer chips and software for cell phones and other devices, Tuesday said it fell to a loss for its latest quarter, hurt by charges for its restructuring plan and declining revenue.
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(InfoWorld) - Taiwanese chip assembler Advanced Semiconductor EngineeringÂ (ASE) plans to invest $60 million in a low-end chip assembly company based in China. ASE's board of directors approved a plan to invest in Global Advanced Packaging Technology, a Shanghai company, ASE said Thursday. ASE will need approval from Taiwanese regulators to move forward on the investment due to strict regulations meant to keep Taiwanese technology from ending up in missiles and other military hardware aimed at the island by rival China. Taiwan and China remain enemies after splitting in 1949 amid civil war. Despite the strained relationship andÂ tough investment rules, China remains by far the favored destination for Taiwanese investment due to their shared language and culture, and China's lower costs and huge potential market. Currently, ASE has no chip assembly investments in China, despite the fact that earlier this year Taipei gave a green light to chip makers to invest in low-end chip assembly. Although the government announced it would allow such investments, not a single application has been approved by Taipei, and companies remain unsure of how to apply to regulators. Analysts say that the approval process remains very much subject to politics in Taiwan, due mainly to the rivalry with China. In related news, ASE said it will form a special committee to evaluate aÂ possible $5.5 billion dealÂ to be bought out by a consortium led by The Carlyle Group. So far, ASE has only received an indication of interest from Carlyle, not a formal offer. The deal could transform ASE into a U.S. company, where Carlyle is based, thereby allowing ASE to invest in China without asking Taipei for permission. China's growing electronics industry requires chips, and chip assembly factories nearby can help ensure quick placement inside gadgets. Carlyle's interest in ASE is also a sign of the times. There have been a string of private equity deals in the chip industry recently. A few months ago, Carlyle was part of a team that sealed a deal to buy Freescale SemiconductorÂ for $17.6 billion, while Koninklijke Philips ElectronicsÂ sold a majority in its chip unit to another group for around $10.6 billion. Â ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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(InfoWorld) - Semiconductor manufacturer LSI Logic said Monday it would acquire Agere Systems, creating a combined chip-making company with enough scale to compete for greater market share in segments including hard disks and digital media players. LSI, of Milipitas, California, will trade stock worth $4 billion for Agere, of Allentown, Penn. The move will push LSI to double its size, growing to 9,100 employees and an estimated $3.5 billion in annual revenue. LSI hopes to use the deal to extend its market in storage and consumer electronics by adding Agere's expertise in storage, mobility and networking, according to a statement by Abhi Talwalkar, president and chief executive of LSI. Agere's top 10 customers are Apple, Cisco, Hitachi, Lucent, Maxtor, NEC, Nokia, Samsung, Seagate, and Toshiba, the company's Web site said. The two companies will also be more streamlined, saving $125 million per year starting in 2008 through "increased efficiencies in manufacturing and operating expenses." The companies did not say whether that plan included layoffs. LSI expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2007, pending approval by regulators and by the shareholders of both companies.
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Upcoming chips will lead to relatively inexpensive hardware, company says.
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Chipmaker Freescale agrees to be bought by a private equity group in one of the biggest-ever technology deals.
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Advanced Micro Devices plans to ratchet up the clock speed of its new Barcelona chip by year's end, as part of its effort to catch up to rival Intel in the market for quad-core server processors.
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U.K. semiconductor design company Arm Holdings PLC has agreed to acquire a Sunnyvale, California, provider of components for chip manufacturing in a deal valued at around $913 million in cash and stock.