ARM locks in deal for US firm Artisan
Chip maker to acquire US counterpart for $913m
ARM, a Cambridge-based chip maker, last week shocked the market by agreeing to acquire US-based counterpart Artisan for $913m.
Under the terms of the deal - which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to shareholder approval - Artisan shareholders will be offered the choice of taking cash, ARM shares or a mixture of the two. ARM will retain all 340 Artisan employees.
The UK company has claimed the deal will enable it to deliver one of the industry's broadest portfolios of system-on-chip intellectual property (IP) offerings to the firms' combined customer base.
Warren East, chief executive of ARM, said: "We have been partners with Artisan for many years, but when it comes to deep sub-micron technology we believed there was a strategic advantage in bringing the two businesses together.
"Our products are complementary and it is an exciting time to be talking about IP in the semiconductor industry."
Joe D'Elia, research director at iSuppli, said the acquisition is a good move. "The IP industry is going through a strong wave of consolidation, and when taking IP to clients a business doesn't want to be buying bits and pieces from different vendors.
"This acquisition will make ARM a one-stop shop, able to offer a complete system on one chip. This is a proposition that is more appealing to businesses. It also means it can play in a wider market space, because it will gain new customers from Artisan," D'Elia said.