Monday, March 9, 2009

Microchip Acquires Aussie Software Firm

Chandler, Ariz.-based microcontroller and semiconductor manufacturer Microchip Technology Inc. announced Monday that it has acquired HI-TECH Software of Brisbane, Australia. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. HI-TECH provides development tools for embedded systems and is best known for its ANSI C compilers, Microchip said, adding that the firm has provided third-party C compilers to Microchip for more than a decade. In a related move, Microchip said the HI-TECH team will be focusing its efforts entirely on Microchip-related products; to that end, the firm is offering a 20 percent discount through its Web site on development tools for HI-TECH customers, as well as a 50 percent exchange discount on HI-TECH compilers for non-Microchip products to get customers to switch over to its supported tools.