Tuesday, November 18, 2008

ON Semiconductor Nixes Atmel Bid

Phoenix and Chandler, Arizona-based ON Semiconductor said Tuesday that it is nixing its bid for Atmel Corporation. According to ON SEmi, it is withdrawing from its joint proposal with Microchip Technology Incorporated, due to the "unforseen deterioration in the semiconductor market" and "unprecedented weakness in the financial markets." ON Semi and Microchip made the bid for Atmel in October, saying it would pay $5.00 per share--or approximately $2.3B--for Atmel. Partner Microchip said it intends to look at potential alternatives for pursuing a transaction without ON Semiconductor.