More chipset suppliers are likely to tie up with Taiwan-based IC design houses in order to tap retail channels as well as to expand their ecosystem in China, according to industry sources.
Microchip Technology announced a deal in late May to acquire all of outstanding shares of Taiwan-based ISSC Technologies, a provider of low power Bluetooth and advanced wireless solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) market, at NT$143 per share (approximately US$4.74) through a tender offer.
The transaction represents a total equity value of about NT$9.9 billion, and a total enterprise value of about NT$8.9 billion, after excluding ISSC's cash and investments on its balance sheet of NT$1 billion, said the companies.
Image Sub, a subsidiary of Exar Corporation, also announced recently that it will purchase the stock of Integrated Memory Logic (iML) at NT$91 (US$3.04) per share, or a 34.62% premium, with the merger slated for completion on September 19.
More notably, chipset vendor Intel has made equity investments in a number of Taiwan-based IC design houses, including touch controller supplier Egalax-empia Technology (EETI), flash card controller vendor Skymedi and SoC solution provider Aspeed Technology.
The vertical integration of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, the easy access to China's market and supply chains by Taiwan makers and the ability of Taiwan-based companies to engage in international cooperation projects are the main attractions for international chipset vendors to team up with IC design houses in Taiwan, commented the sources.
