Thursday, October 2, 2008

Atmel Gets Hostile Bid From Microchip, ON Semiconductor

San Jose-based Atmel Corporation, a maker of semiconductors, has been handed a $2.3 billion dollar offer from the company. According to Microchip Technology and ON Semiconductor, they are offering to buy Atmel for $5.00 per share in cash, after Atmel rejected an offer to discuss a possible buyout. In a letter released by the firms, Microchip Technology said it was looking to acquire Atmel at a premium of 52.4% from its closing price Wednesday, and would finance part of the acquisition by selling Atmel's nonvolatile memory, RF, and automative businesses to ON Semiconductor.