Thursday, September 23, 2010

PLX Technology to Acquire Teranetics, the Leading Supplier of 10 Gigabit Ethernet Silicon

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PLX Technology, Inc. [NASDAQ: PLXT], the leader in connectivity solutions for the data center and the home, today announced it has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Teranetics, Inc., a privately held fabless provider of high-performance mixed-signal semiconductors. Teranetics, the broadly recognized leader in 10 Gigabit Ethernet over copper physical layer (10GBase-T PHY) technology, delivered the industry’s first fully integrated single-chip implementation of single-port and dual-port 10GBase-T PHY silicon. This silicon is the only known solution in production today.

Teranetics’ corporate headquarters are located in San Jose, California. Founded in 2003, Teranetics provides state-of-the-art silicon solutions that enable 10 Gigabit rates over widely installed low-cost CAT6 and CAT6a cabling. Teranetics’ products allow data centers and enterprise networks to increase scalability and improve throughput while dramatically lowering the cost of ownership for 10 Gigabit links.

Significant growth is expected over the coming years as 1 Gigabit Ethernet networks are upgraded to 10 Gigabit. Market leaders of enterprise switches, NICs, and adapters are shipping products today with Teranetics’ 10GBase-T products. As servers start to ship with 10GBase-T on motherboards next year, demand will accelerate. The Linley Group estimates that over four million ports will ship in 2012 and over 22 million ports in 2014. The total potential for this market is much greater and will take years to develop, similar to the transition from Fast Ethernet to 1 Gigabit Ethernet. Today, 1 Gigabit Ethernet is dominant in the data center, with over 200 million switch ports shipping annually.

PCI Express and 10G Ethernet have their advantages and will continue to coexist as complementary technologies in the data center. PLX will leverage its unique leadership position, technology and IP with these two dominant IOs to bring out new architectures for the data centers of tomorrow and to tap further into the $2 billion Ethernet semiconductor market. These future solutions can take advantage of both technologies while leveraging the company’s superior switching fabrics, high-speed analog, and SoC capabilities to increase performance, lower power consumption and reduce overall system costs.

“This acquisition installs a third leadership position into our product portfolio,” said Ralph Schmitt, president and CEO of PLX. “As the market leader, Teranetics has successfully solved difficult system issues with 10 Gigabit Ethernet plaguing the data center. This has allowed them to ramp their products at critical customers. PLX is fully committed to this market and will continue to invest in future PHYs and other IP to bring high-performance system-level products to market. We welcome our new team to the PLX family, where we will share our mutual core values of leadership, excellence, integrity and winning.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, PLX Technology will acquire Teranetics in exchange for 7.4 million shares of PLX valued at approximately $27.6 million based on today’s closing price, cash of approximately $1.3 million and two promissory notes aggregating approximately $6.9 million. PLX will also assume approximately $18 million of Teranetics corporate obligations, including indebtedness, transaction expenses incurred by Teranetics and cash bonuses payable to Teranetics employees. The first note will be for $5.4 million due one year from closing and the second will be for approximately $1.5 million due three years from closing. The acquisition has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors. The acquisition, which is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions, is anticipated to be completed in early October 2010. Prior to signing the merger agreement, PLX also made a $1 million bridge loan to Teranetics.

“By joining forces with PLX, an established leader in server and data center connectivity, Teranetics gets the framework essential to scaling our business and strengthening our ability to win,” said Nersi Nazari, president and CEO of Teranetics. “With our combined portfolios of enterprise PCI Express switches and 10G Ethernet PHYs, and our common customer base, we envision the newly merged company dominating the backbone of the data center market.”

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Intel Capital invests in Ciranova

SANTA CLARA, Calif., September 14, 2010. Ciranova Inc., a technology leader in analog IC physical design automation, announced today that Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment organization, has made an investment in the company. The funding will be used to expand the company’s sales and customer support operations and for specific extensions to the company’s technology.

Ciranova’s automated-design software helps engineers integrate complex RF, analog and mixed-signal content into nanometer-scale silicon much more densely and quickly than previously possible. Ciranova® technology is used by semiconductor companies integrating Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, SERDES and other functions into high-end system-on-chip (SoC) designs at 65nm and below.

“Silicon for consumer devices, especially mobile internet and broadband, now demands very aggressive mixed-signal integration in nanometer CMOS,” said Eric Filseth, Ciranova CEO. “But putting many radios or other analog functions into a single chip, together with digital, is extremely challenging using traditional analog methods. Our approach is much better suited to the complex process rules and large-scale designs associated with SoCs, and we’re delighted that Intel Capital has chosen to invest in our company.”

“The productivity gap in analog/mixed-signal design automation has been growing at a much faster rate than the productivity gap in digital design. Increased automation in analog design flows is needed to ensure acceptable design times for analog/mixed–signal circuits” said Shishpal Rawat, director of business enabling programs with the Design Technology Solutions Group, Intel. “Ciranova’s approach could improve turnaround time in analog layout automation, a key component of the overall analog/mixed-signal design flow.”

About Ciranova
Ciranova is an electronic design automation (EDA) company focused on large productivity improvements in RF, analog and mixed-signal IC physical design. Complementary to existing design flows and supported by leading foundries, Ciranova’s PDK and layout automation software dramatically reduces the time and effort needed to implement complex analog functionality in advanced CMOS. Ciranova is a founding member of the Interoperable PDK Libraries (IPL) Alliance and supports the Si2 OpenAccess database. For more information, visit our website at www.ciranova.com.

About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovativetechnology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$9.5 billion in over 1,050 companies in 47 countries. In that time frame, 175 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 241 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2009, Intel Capital invested US$327 million in 107 investments with approximately 50 percent of funds invested outside the United States and Canada. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit
www.intelcapital.com.

Microsemi Corporation Acquires Arxan Defense Systems, Inc.

IRVINE, Calif., Sep 15, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq:MSCC), a leading manufacturer of high performance analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, high reliability semiconductors, and RF subsystems, today announced that it has acquired privately held Arxan Defense Systems, Inc.

Arxan Defense Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of anti-tamper solutions, providing full-service support to defense clients in securing systems against tampering, piracy and reverse engineering. Arxan's software and firmware platform, EnforcIT(TM), is designed for defense customers building major weapons systems that require protection of critical technologies against nation-state threats.

There is a strong need for reliable, efficient solutions for software and hardware protection and information assurance to meet mandatory requirements as specified by U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) directives. As each program and product is unique, with its own specific security, platform, performance, and business requirements, it is generally unfeasible to fulfill these requirements using a single technology.

"The combination of Microsemi and Arxan Defense Systems creates a broad and complementary product portfolio for the Defense market," said James J. Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Microsemi. "Arxan's software and firmware solutions fulfill an important role in protecting DoD-critical technologies while they serve to enable additional opportunities in non-U.S. military markets."

"This partnership between Microsemi and Arxan Defense Systems further leverages Arxan's EnforcIT (TM) enablement platform into additional security layers and devices to complement our software and firmware protection capabilities," said Rich Earley, Chief Executive Officer of Arxan Defense Systems. "We are proud to join forces with such a strong and growing supplier of Defense products, systems, and capabilities."

Microsemi intends to discuss this acquisition during its fiscal year-end earnings conference call to be scheduled in November.

About Microsemi Corporation

Microsemi Corporation, with corporate headquarters in Irvine, California, is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of high performance analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, high reliability semiconductors and RF subsystems. The company's semiconductors manage and control or regulate power, protect against transient voltage spikes and transmit, receive and amplify signals.

Microsemi's products include individual components as well as integrated circuit solutions that enhance customer designs by improving performance and reliability, battery optimization, reducing size or protecting circuits. The principal markets the company serves include implanted medical, defense/aerospace and satellite, notebook computers, monitors and LCD TVs, automotive and mobile connectivity applications. More information may be obtained by contacting the company directly or by visiting its website at http://www.microsemi.com.

About Arxan Defense Systems, Inc.

Arxan Defense Systems, Inc. is an anti-tamper technology company providing products and support to DoD and military clients across the entire anti-tamper lifecycle. It empowers program managers to successfully navigate the verification and validation process through a combination of people, products and processes. Arxan Defense Systems takes a 'hooks and handles' approach to create strong defense-in-depth solutions for critical technology and critical program information. With its premier EnforcIT(TM) product suite, Arxan Defense Systems enables engineers to build custom software and firmware protection schemes, and through extensible platforms, it enables developers to leverage best of breed technology in a fast, efficient, and highly secure manner.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Microsemi Acquires VT Silicon

IRVINE, Calif., Sep 14, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq:MSCC), a leading manufacturer of high performance analog mixed signal integrated circuits, high reliability semiconductors, and radio frequency (RF) subsystems, today announced that it has acquired all of the assets of VT Silicon.

VT Silicon, located in Atlanta, GA, designs and manufactures multi-band radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) solutions for the mobile wireless broadband market. VT Silicon's products leverage linearization and efficiency-enhancement technologies to enable highly efficient, low-cost and small-footprint intelligent Front-End RFIC solutions.

"We are pleased to extend our industry leading RF product offering to next generation WLAN and WiMax markets with the acquisition of VT Silicon," said James J. Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Microsemi Corporation. "As the first supplier in the world to develop a monolithic front end RFIC in Silicon Germanium (SiGe), VT's technology caliber is designed to enable Microsemi to deliver innovative, highly-integrated front-end modules to our customers. The acquisition of VT Silicon extends Microsemi's technology leadership in the RF business and reflects our continuing commitment to this important market."

According to a recent report published by Strategy Analytics, the worldwide installed base of consumer wireless devices will exceed 2.6 billion by 2014. This high volume global growth market, which necessitates technology differentiation, typifies the kind of commercial business Microsemi targets for leadership. Microsemi's balanced business model blends high-volume commercial market opportunities with the growth and content opportunities of its Aerospace, Defense and Security end markets. Microsemi intends to discuss this acquisition during its fiscal year-end earnings conference call to be scheduled in November.

About Microsemi Corporation

Microsemi Corporation, with corporate headquarters in Irvine, California, is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of high performance analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, high reliability semiconductors and RF subsystems. The company's semiconductors manage and control or regulate power, protect against transient voltage spikes and transmit, receive and amplify signals.

Microsemi's products include individual components as well as integrated circuit solutions that enhance customer designs by improving performance and reliability, battery optimization, reducing size or protecting circuits. The principal markets the company serves include implanted medical, defense/aerospace and satellite, notebook computers, monitors and LCD TVs, automotive and mobile connectivity applications. More information may be obtained by contacting the company directly or by visiting its website at http://www.microsemi.com.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Maxim acquires Phyworks

SUNNYVALE, CA– September 8, 2010 – Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM) announced today that it has acquired privately held Phyworks Ltd. for approximately $72.5 million in cash.

Maxim CEO Tunc Doluca remarked: “Business and consumer appetite for access to information anywhere, anytime, will continue to grow exponentially. The backbone to support the increased data traffic is high-speed optical networks. Additionally, optical networks are now beginning to reach consumers directly with fiber to the home. The addition of Phyworks’ product portfolio and talent to Maxim strengthens our market position to capitalize on this growth.”

Acquisition Highlights:
  • The acquisition is synergistic to Maxim’s optical transceiver product line and opens up new high-speed product opportunities.
  • The combination of the two companies will provide a broad and powerful set of solutions for customers.
  • Phyworks’ products for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) applications complement Maxim’s datacom and telecom portfolio.
  • Maxim and Phyworks combined will have market share leadership for transceiver chips for optical modules.
  • Phyworks’ know-how opens up additional high-speed signal integrity product opportunities for Maxim.
  • Phyworks has been successful in the Optical Infrastructure market.
  • An outstanding engineering organization has achieved fast new product time-to-market.
  • Leadership in bringing highly integrated products to the market has enabled module makers to produce very cost effective solutions. Going forward, Maxim’s brand name will strengthen customer traction. The high-speed market presents a large growth opportunity.
  • This growth is driven by huge demand for data rich applications (high- definition video distribution and cloud computing)
  • Served market for optical transceivers and high-speed signal integrity products is estimated to be $340 million in 2014
  • The acquisition is immediately accretive.
  • Phyworks’ gross margin is better than the Maxim average.
  • With synergies, the acquired operating margin is better than Maxim’s excluding acquisition-related charges and amortization.
"Phyworks is very pleased to be joining Maxim," said Stephen King, President and CEO of Phyworks." As the optical communications markets continues to evolve, technologies from both companies can be combined to create higher performance, lower cost solutions that will enable end users to build next generation optical networks. Maxim is the ideal partner for our customers and for our employees, and this combination strengthens Maxim's position as a leader in the markets we share."

"RBC Capital Markets Corporation acted as financial advisor to Phyworks in connection with the transaction."

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Zoran Corporation to Acquire Microtune, Inc.

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - September 8, 2010) - Zoran Corporation (NASDAQ: ZRAN) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Microtune®, Inc. (NASDAQ: TUNE). Under the agreement, Zoran will pay $2.92 in cash for each share of Microtune's common stock, resulting in a transaction price of approximately $166 million, or $84 million net of cash acquired. Both boards of directors have approved the transaction, which is expected to close after Microtune shareholder approval, regulatory clearance and satisfaction of customary conditions specified in the agreement. Zoran expects the acquisition to be accretive immediately following the close of the deal, which is expected to be in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Microtune, a pioneer in the development and deployment of silicon tuners for cable set-top-box ("STB"), broadband cable modem, DTV, and automotive entertainment markets, offers a product portfolio that is complementary and synergistic to Zoran's strategic objectives. With industry-leading customers, the combined company will benefit from technology integration and multiple cross-selling opportunities, creating a single point-of-service for customers.

Zoran is increasing its focus on the STB market as part of its strategy to become a complete provider of solutions for consumer home entertainment. Microtune's silicon tuners combined with Zoran's solutions are expected to provide customers a more complete solution from a single supplier and enable OEMs and ODMs to quickly scale cost-performance benefits, and reduce time-to-market for future generations of cable set-top-boxes. Cable operators continue to invest in new technologies, incorporating multi-tuner architectures and DOCSIS® technologies, to accommodate expanding functionality and increasing bandwidth requirements. With Microtune's silicon tuner and radio frequency ("RF") technologies, the combined company is expected to be well positioned to address the new industry challenges.

The acquisition will also strengthen Zoran's position in DTV as the market transitions from traditional can tuners to single-chip TV tuners during the next several years. Adoption of silicon tuners is expected to enable TV manufacturers to meet the growing demand for high-performance, smaller form factor and more cost-effective solutions. In addition, by combining the advanced demodulator technologies of both companies, Zoran's customers will be able to obtain fully-integrated receivers as multiple new standards for demodulation emerge in various worldwide geographies.