Murata Electronics North America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., has announced the acquisition of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: PSMI) on August 23, 2014. Murata will acquire all outstanding shares of Peregrine not owned by Murata, for $12.50 per share in cash, or a total transaction value of $471 million ($465 million excluding Murata’s existing holding). On closing the transaction, Peregrine will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Murata and continue with its current business model of solving the world’s toughest RF challenges.
Peregrine is the founder of RF SOI (silicon on insulator) and pioneer of advanced Radio Frequency (RF) solutions and is a leading provider of RF front-end (RFFE) solutions for mobile and analog applications. The acquisition will give Murata advanced RF Front-end capabilities (Global 1) and the SOI process technology, through which they can better support the growing integration of mobile technologies. The SOI technology can support the radio requirements of smartphones and other wireless devices as they continue to grow and become more complex. As part of the Murata team, Peregrine will be able to expand their existing partnership and speed the industry’s transition to an integrated, all-CMOS RF front-end. They will remain committed the many wireless markets that they currently support.
In additions to the synergies from the acquisition, Peregrine will also provide Murata with a strong portfolio of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) covering the entire RF SOI front-end. The transaction, which has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors, is expected to close by the end of 2014 or early 2015, subject to Peregrine’s stockholders’ approval, regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions.
