Dialog Semiconductor has reached an agreement on Sunday to buy Atmel for about $4.6 billion, according to
a report from Reuters. It seems that the european company is looking to expand its industrial product portfolio and
diversify its client base in automotive markets, as well as network-connected chips used in industrial
gear, also known as the “Internet of Things”, one of the hottest topics of the moment.
The interest in the Internet of Things is growing
Even though it has its headquarters in the United Kingdom, Dialog Semiconductor also has its shares listed in Germany. Jalal Bagherli, the company’s Chief Executive Officer , said in an interview that “The rationale for our acquisition is to build a complementary business to power savings and power management and it gives us a better platform for the ‘Internet of Things'”.
On the other hand, Atmel is an American company, with its headquarters in California, that manufactures small
processors, called micro controllers, that are used in a variety of electronics and other hardware in this
connected device area.
Atmel serves applications including consumer, communications, computer networking, industrial, medical, automotive, aerospace and military. Over 5,000 employees will be transferred to Dialog Semiconductor next year, when the deal will be completely done.
The deal will be completed next year
Reuters says that all papers will be signed in the first quarter of 2016, which means that Dialog will boost its earnings in 2017 and will save $150 million in annual cost within two years.
Atmel shareholders would receive $4.65 in cash and 0.112 of a Dialog Semiconductor American Depository Share for
each Atmel common share, equivalent to $10.42 per Atmel share based on Dialog’s closing price as of Sept. 18.
Dialog said it planned to pay for the deal via cash, $2.1 billion of debt and about $49 million in Dialog American
Depository Shares. Atmel shareholders will own about 38 percent of the combined group.
