Adaptec offloads channel business

Vendor sells channel arm of the business including products and customers to PMC-Sierra

A done deal: Adaptec has sold its storage business to PMC-Sierra

Adaptec has flogged its channel storage business to internet infrastructure semiconductor firm PMC-Sierra for $34m (£22.7m) in cash.

The ailing storage vendor announced earlier this year that part of its operations were up for sale. The firm has suffered a string of blows, including revenues sliding 42 per cent in its second-quarter results, and its chief executive and two board directors leaving in the same month.

Its deal with PMC-Sierra includes Adaptec’s RAID storage product line, its established value added reseller customer base, board logistics capabilities, and SSD cache performance solutions. PMC-Sierra will also assume certain liabilities related to the business.

The transaction is expected to close in approximately 30 days, subject to customary closing conditions.

Greg Lang, PMC-Sierra’s chief executive, said: “The acquisition of Adaptec’s channel storage business allows us to accelerate our entry into a new segment of enterprise RAID storage, and leverages our RAID chip and software development with channel customers.

“I am excited about this acquisition and the future growth opportunities it presents through the strong strategic fit between our core strengths in enterprise storage and the established channel storage business of Adaptec,” he added.

PMC-Sierra said in a statement it expects to retain around 90 Adaptec employees in seven different geographies, with the majority located in California.