HILLSBORO, Ore.-Under a $1.3 billion deal, chip maker TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. will merge with wireless components maker Sawtek Inc., a move the companies said will allow them to create highly integrated radio-frequency products that will benefit wireless manufacturers with significantly cheaper, smaller and better designed components.
The stock-for-stock merger is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, with TriQuint shareholders owning 64 percent of the new company and Sawtek shareholders owning 36 percent. The new company will have about 1,700 employees and the Sawtek subsidiary will continue to sell and manufacture products under the Sawtek name.
Sawtek investors seemed to approve of the move, sending Sawtek shares up almost 6 percent in trading to about $27 per share. TriQuint’s shares were down about 7 percent to $24 per share.
TriQuint is a worldwide supplier of high-performance integrated circuits, and its products span the RF and millimeter wave frequency ranges and use analog and mixed signal circuit designs. Sawtek designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of electronic signal processing components based on surface acoustic wave technology, which is primarily used in the wireless industry. Sawtek’s principal products use its SAW noise-filter technology.
Through the merger, the companies said, they will be able to combine their RF filter and circuit integration technologies to cut down on design and procurement expenses, which will help them garner a large part of the wireless equipment manufacturing market.
“While RFIC (radio frequency integrated circuits) and SAW filters must work together to maximize radio performance, there has been very little effort in the past in this direction,” said Kimon Anemogiannis, Sawtek’s president and chief executive officer. “The combination of our engineering talents should result in integrated products that are optimized for maximum performance and minimum cost.”
