MaxLinear is buying Exar Corporation in a $700 million deal, further shrinking the analog side of the semiconductor industry. MaxLinear shares little overlap with the business it is buying, which sells high-performance analog chips used in interfaces and power management.
Kishore Seendripu, MaxLinear’s chief executive, said that the company will bundle Exar's devices with its own mixed-signal and radio frequency chips to improve sales. MaxLinear plans to take Exar's devices to its customers in wireless infrastructure and telecommunications and vice-versa.
Exar's products are staples in industrial equipment, enterprise networking, and dashboard displays in cars, with customers ranging from Schneider Electric to Delphi Automotive. MaxLinear is trying to tap into these markets as spending on wireless infrastructure slows down.
“Exar’s expertise in power management and interface technologies, along with an extensive distribution platform, should enable us to accelerate our growth, capitalize on cross-selling opportunities and better serve our customers,” Seendripu said in a press statement.
Last year, MaxLinear made $388 million in revenue from chips used in broadband applications, infrastructure, and video encoding. Exar generated $107 million over the same period from sales of high-performance analog chips. The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter this year.
