Avago以66亿美元收购存储芯片制造商LSI

EE Times消息，美国模拟半导体厂商安华高科技有限公司（Avago Technologies Ltd）日前宣布将以66亿美元（约合人民币400亿元）的现金收购近年来增速明显的存储芯片制造商LSI，以帮助加强其在企业存储市场的地位，并扩大其产品供应。 安华高的主营业务为设计、开发和提供模拟半导体，其所产的芯片被使用在多款苹果公司的产品中，而LSI的芯片则多用于硬盘和闪存驱动器等存储设备上，其中存储为其核心业务，除了传统的RAID卡、SAS组件外，近年来LSI将产品线延伸到SSD控制器、SSD、PCI-E闪存卡等领域。 安华高表示，此项交易如果完成将使安华高成为年营收50亿美元左右的半导体公司，安华高表示通过收购LSI将提升公司的现金流以及每股盈利。该笔交易还会帮助LSI加强其在企业存储市场的地位，并扩大其产品供应，同时预计交易完成后第一个完整财年中将会帮助安华高节约2亿美元的成本。 根据相关协议，安华高将LSI每股股票价格定位11.15美元，较上周五收盘价溢价41%。据悉，安华高公司本次收购资金由多方组成，包括安华高公司10亿美元自有资金，私募股权投资公司银湖（Silver Lake）提供10亿美元， 另外46亿美元则为银行贷款。银湖资本的资金将以7年可转换债券的形式进行。 据悉，此项交易已经获得两家公司董事会的批准，目前仍需要LSI股东批准，预计交易将于明年上半年完成。ESMC将进一步关注交易的最新动态，并及时带来后续报道。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 参考英文原文：Avago/LSI Points to Maturing Industry，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} Avago/LSI Points to Maturing Industry Rick Merritt SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a sign of the maturing semiconductor industry, Avago Technologies Ltd. announced plans to acquire LSI Corp. for $6.6 billion in cash and loans. The deal creates a bigger, broader communications chip designer that expects slower revenue growth but higher profits. Overall, the combination is a wise move that Wall Street is already giving a thumbs-up with increased stock prices for both companies. It also is a sign of slowing growth and increasing risk aversion in the maturing market for semiconductors. The two companies have little product overlap and some potential for product and technology synergy. LSI brings a significant business in storage, primarily hard-disk-drive chips, storage networking boards, and solid-state drive controllers. Avago does about half its business in various handset and basestation RF chips and the rest in a mix of mainly optical components. The net result is a company with a significantly broader product portfolio that aims to save as much as $200 million a year by rationalizing so-called Selling, General, and Administrative expenses. Avago chief executive Hock Tan praised the LSI product line and said it was premature to comment on any potential of product-line cuts or other cost savings. There's "some overlap in ASIC and SerDes, so I'd expect reduction in force for greater efficiencies, but the combined company will have more IP for ASICs, too," says Jag Bolaria, senior analyst with market watcher The Linley Group of Mountain View, Calif. "LSI is currently riding high," Bolaria told us. "It has managed to expand its ASIC footprint because of limited competition in traditional ASSP markets -- so it's a good time for an exit." Overall, Avago estimates its annual revenue growth could slow from its current level of as much as 12 percent down to as little as 6 percent due to the deal. However gross margins, earnings per share, and cashflow will all increase. The deal also gives both companies bigger shock absorbers. For example, Avago will reduce its exposure to volatile wireless markets, shifting that portion of its business from 50 to 25 percent of its sales. "Avago has not been a player in enterprise storage until now... [but the deal] makes us a leader overnight," said Tan on a call with analysts. The two companies could see synergies by increasing collaboration with shared customers in datacenter, carrier, and business network systems. The move plays into the trend of chip buyers' increasing interest in working more closely with fewer key vendors. In addition, the combination of Avago and LSI optical, silicon, and SerDes capabilities could fuel work in complementary products in and around their network processor products. Avago hopes to close the deal before July. The merger promises to create a company with "greater scale for investment and a broader product portfolio in a larger, more diversified organization," said Abhi Talwalkar, chief executive of LSI on the analyst call. The deal will be financed using $1 billion in cash at the combined companies along with a $4.6 billion loan from a group of banks and a $1 billion loan from private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. The deal represents a 40 percent premium over LSI's stock price on Friday.