Semiconductors

Chipmaker puts history over price in $21 bln deal

13 Jul 2020

Cost savings come nowhere near covering the premium Analog Devices is offering for rival Maxim after years of flirting with the idea. The hope is that finally putting them together will increase sway over customers enough to justify it. Analog’s past suggests that’s possible.

Chip IPO tests Hong Kong-China feedback loop

6 Jul 2020

SMIC more than doubled its Shanghai offer to $6.6 bln on strong demand. Its Hong Kong shares had risen sharply ahead of the mainland listing valuing the semiconductor maker at 100 times forecast earnings. That’s hard to justify, even with Beijing’s aim of tech self-sufficiency.

Corona Capital: Merger bans, Moelis, Domino’s Pizza

23 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. politicians plan a curb on opportunistic M&A, advisory boutique Moelis cuts its dividend, and Domino's delivers.

UK’s inward M&A muddle comes home to roost

21 Apr 2020

China-backed buyout firm Canyon Bridge is trying to wrest control of Imagination Technologies, a British chip designer it acquired in 2017. The UK government lacks the grounds and the legislation to intervene. And its nuanced position on Huawei complicates a tougher approach.

Corona Capital: LVMH, L’Oréal, Pandemic bonds

16 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout. LVMH holds onto the luxury of cash, cutting its dividend; L’Oréal makes the best of lockdowns with more than 50% growth in e-commerce sales in the first quarter; and even Covid-19 fails to trigger pandemic bonds.

TSMC sits uncomfortably on U.S.-China tech fence

19 Feb 2020

The $280 bln Taiwanese company has benefitted from being everyone’s friendly chipmaker. Now the White House is mulling curbs targeting TSMC’s business with China’s Huawei. The financial hit looks manageable, but rising political pressure to pick sides will be a bigger threat.

Consumer wallets are top risk to chip titan TSMC

14 Jan 2020

A heady valuation multiple for Taiwan's $295 bln supplier to Apple, Huawei and others reflects its relentless march on rivals. Rising retail prices for ever-fancier smartphones, though, may curb demand. That’s possibly the biggest risk for the tech supply chain’s sturdiest player.

Osram hedge-fund latecomers face a rude awakening

9 Dec 2019

Austria’s AMS has won its battle for the German lighting group, after receiving sufficient backing from the latter’s army of speculators. Even more hedge funds are betting that quirky domestic M&A rules will help them secure a higher exit price. But that wager could yet go wrong.

Osram M&A traps hedge funds in prisoner’s dilemma

3 Dec 2019

Speculators now own up to 45% of the German lighting group. If they can be enlightened enough to work together, there’s a way to make would-be acquirer AMS pay more than $5 bln. But if they revert to self-interested type, the deal will fall through and they will all lose money.

Super Mario turbo-charges case for Sony breakup

29 Oct 2019

Shares of $45 bln Nintendo have gained 30% this year, partly thanks to a mobile hit featuring its iconic plumber. A richer valuation should also be an inspiration to sprawling rival Sony. Separating its video-games and entertainment business could be one way to narrow the gap.

Osram sequel risks Pyrrhic victory for AMS

21 Oct 2019

The Austrian sensor maker launched another bid for the German lighting group. Though the 4.5 bln euro price is the same, a lower acceptance threshold improves its chances of success. But if AMS can’t take control of the remaining shares later, it may struggle to pay down debt.

AMS has tricky route out of M&A cul-de-sac

15 Oct 2019

The Austrian sensor maker has no good options after its failed bid for lighting group Osram. But German regulators have given it a least-bad exit via a sneaky loophole. It’s not perfect but is better than selling down its Osram stock at a loss or ditching its strategic ambitions.

The Exchange: Matthew Putman

30 Sep 2019

The factory floor may be an odd place to find a musical virtuoso. But the founder of Nanotronics, a near-unicorn on the Brooklyn waterfront with Peter Thiel on its board, is as comfortable tinkling the ivories as he is tinkering with the complexities of process automation.

iPhones keep ringing for Taiwan’s TSMC

18 Jul 2019

Quarterly earnings at the $213 bln contract chipmaker fell to $2 bln, capping a dismal first half. New models from Apple should mean a better end to 2019, though. TSMC's growing heft in the market for cutting-edge semiconductors suggests smartphones can power a stable recovery.

Broadcom’s Symantec swoop rests on tricky reboot

3 Jul 2019

The chipmaker led by Hock Tan is in talks to buy the troubled $14 bln cybersecurity outfit. It’s another move to diversify after its bid for Qualcomm was crushed. To earn a return, Tan will need to repeat recent integration success, cut costs, and manage hard-to-quantify risks.

Broadcom flashes a broader economic warning

14 Jun 2019

The $105 billion chipmaker’s woes extend far beyond the U.S. ban on exports to China’s Huawei. Broadcom’s rapid expansion has made it a supplier to everybody from mobile phone firms to telcos to the auto industry. When their demand for chips declines, growth often slows too.

Transatlantic $10 bln chip deal does not compute

3 Jun 2019

Germany’s Infineon is paying a premium of almost 50% to buy U.S.-based Cypress Semiconductor. CEO Reinhard Ploss has given few details on how he will hit ambitious long-term revenue targets. Given the deal’s success hinges on hitting these goals, the price looks too high.

Qualcomm, Sprint show U.S. policy blowing in wind

22 May 2019

A judge ruled against the $94 bln chipmaker in an Obama-era case the current administration failed to stop. The DOJ may block the FCC-recommended $26 bln telecom merger with T-Mobile US. Such cases highlight the random nature of Trump-era oversight. That’s bad for business.

Trade row adds to headaches for next Foxconn boss

15 May 2019

The iPhone assembler’s quarterly profit fell a worse-than-expected 18%, as tech demand cools. A U.S.-China spat is escalating too. Founder Terry Gou has sought to diversify away from Apple for years, in part by scrambling up the value chain. His successor will need to climb faster.

Samsung may stay true to its bleak words

30 Apr 2019

The South Korean chipmaker’s quarterly operating profit fell a whopping 60 pct, weighed down by lower prices. Shares are up a fifth this year, however, on an anticipated rebound. Samsung’s abundant use of “weak” and “slow” suggest it could take longer than expected.