Semiconductor market consolidates further: Infineon announces $10B deal to buy Cypress

Infineon Hyb25 D256800 At 7 On Infineon Memory Module 7226

The global semiconductor manufacturing market has seen tremendous consolidation over the past decade, and the latest megadeal was announced on Monday.

Munich, Germany-based Infineon and San Jose, CA-based Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Cypress) said they have signed an agreement for Infineon to acquire Cypress for $23.85 per share, corresponding to an enterprise deal value of $10.11 billion.

“The planned acquisition of Cypress is a landmark step in Infineon’s strategic development," Infineon CEO Reinhard Ploss said. "We will strengthen and accelerate our profitable growth and put our business on a broader basis. With this transaction, we will be able to offer our customers the most comprehensive portfolio for linking the real with the digital world. This will open up additional growth potential in the automotive, industrial and Internet of Things sectors. This transaction also makes our business model even more resilient."

Cypress is a global supplier of advanced embedded solutions for the markets of automotive, industrial, smart home appliances, consumer electronics, and medical products. The company's microcontrollers, wireless and USB-based connectivity solutions, analog ICs, and high-performance memories help engineers design differentiated products and get them to market.

Infineon said the landmark deal will strengthen its focus on structural growth drivers and help it serve a broader range of applications, accelerating the company's path of profitable growth in recent years.

"Cypress has a differentiated portfolio of microcontrollers as well as software and connectivity components that are highly complementary to Infineon’s leading power semiconductors, sensors and security solutions," Infineon stated Monday. "Combining these technology assets will enable comprehensive advanced solutions for high-growth applications such as electric drives, battery-powered devices and power supplies. The combination of Infineon’s security expertise and Cypress’s connectivity know-how will accelerate entry into new IoT applications in the industrial and consumer segments. In automotive semiconductors, the expanded portfolio of microcontrollers and NOR flash memories will offer great potential, especially in light of their growing importance for advanced driver assistance systems and new electronic architectures in vehicles."

Infineon added that adding Cypress' strong research & development and geographical presence in the U.S. strengthens Infineon's capabilities for its major customers in North America, as well as other geographic regions.

"The company adds to its R&D presence in Silicon Valley and gains presence, as well as market share, in the strategically important Japanese market," Infineon said.

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2019's calendar year, or in early 2020.