Thursday, October 2, 2008

Microchip, ON Semiconductor Make Bid For Atmel

Chandler, Arizona-based Microchip Technology and Phoenix-based ON Semiconductor have made a bid for semiconductor firm Atmel, saying Thursday morning that they are looking to acquire Atmel for $5.00 per share. The deal is worth approximately $2.3 billion. The two firms said that their offer is a 52.4% premium on Atmel's closing price Wednesday, and comes after Atmel's board of directors rejected a potential acquisition by MIcrochip. According to a letter sent by the firms to Atmel, Microchip would lead the deal, and would be financed in part by the sale of Atmel's nonvolatile memory and RF and automotive businesses to ON Semiconductor.