IRVINE, Calif., 6 Oct. 2010.Integrated circuits giant Microsemi Corp. in Irvine, Calif., plans to acquire field-programmable gate array (FPGA) expert Actel Corp. in Mountain View, Calif., to expand Microsemi's growing system-level capabilities, Microsemi announced this week. Microsemi (Nasdaq:MSCC), a manufacturer of analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, semiconductors, and RF subsystems, agreed to acquire Actel for about $430 million.
Actel (Nasdaq:ACTL) specializes in low-power, mixed-signal, and radiation-tolerant FPGAs for aerospace and defense, communications, and consumer applications -- particularly for satellite and manned spacecraft applications -- from its knowledge of radiation tolerance and space-level qualifications.
"We believe the addition of Actel will deliver compelling synergies to Microsemi," says James J. Peterson, Microsemi president and chief executive officer. "The company's products will allow Microsemi to extend its growing system-level capabilities. Actel's integrated solutions will be an component in enabling this growth."
Under the terms of the definitive acquisition agreement, Microsemi offers to acquire Actel's outstanding shares of common stock at $20.88 per share, net to each holder in cash. A merger would be completed following completion of the tender offer. Microsemi officials say they expect to complete the deal by early January. Terms of the agreement were unanimously approved by the boards of directors of Microsemi and Actel.
Last March Microsemi acquired White Electronic Designs Corp. in Phoenix, also to improve Microsemi's expertise in system-level integrated solutions, as well as in anti-tamper technology and embedded data storage encryption. That deal was for about $100 million in cash.
For more information contact Microsemi online at www.microsemi.com, or Actel at www.actel.com.