Texas Instruments has announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire National Semiconductor in an all-cash $6.5 billion deal. Although neither company is a premier brand in consumer goods—although a few people have probably set hands on TI calculators—the acquisition represents a watershed change in the U.S. electronic component manufacturing industry: both National Semiconductor and TI manufacture analog chips and semi conductors that serve as components in a dizzying array of products from a huge variety of manufacturers.
“This acquisition is about strength and growth,” said TI chairman, president, and CEO Rich Templeton, in a statement. “National has an excellent development team, and its products combined with our own can offer customers an analog portfolio of unmatched depth and breadth.”
The two companies have been long-time rivals, with TI having assembled the larger customer portfolio, broader product platform (TI offers about 30,000 products compared to National’s 12,000 or so), and a larger sales force. However, National is well regard for its customer design tools, and it has a very strong presence in the industrial power market along with manufacturing centers in Malaysia, Scotland, and Maine.
Under the terms of the deal, National stockholders will receive $25 in cash for each share of common stock, which represents a premium of 78 percent over National’s closing price when the deal was announced.
The deal also marks increased consolidation in American technology manufacturing, as the industry works to compete with international competition , and consumer demands for devices like smartphones and tablets forces component makers worldwide to scramble for lucrative new supply contracts.
