US semiconductor manufacturer Skyworks Solutions plans to acquire the infrastructure and automotive business from Silicon Laboratories for $2.75bn.
Skyworks manufactures semiconductors for use in Radio Frequency and mobile communications systems. The company makes a significant proportion of its revenue from Apple, and has seen its valuation rise in sync with iPhone demand.
350 employees are expected to join Skyworks upon the completion of the transaction.
The company hopes the acquisition will help its expansion into industrial and motor control, power supply, 5G wireless infrastructure, optical data communication, automotive, smart home, and data center sectors. Among the Silicon Labs products Skyworks hopes to sell to the data center market are XO/VCXO, clock generators, clock buffers, wireless clocks, jitter attenuator clocks, and synchronization products.
Together, the two businesses currently sell to Ciena, Cisco, Ericsson, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, and ZTE in the data center and communications market, an investor slide deck claims.
“We are pleased to welcome the Infrastructure & Automotive team to Skyworks when this transaction is completed,” Skyworks CEO Liam Griffin said.
“This acquisition will broadly expand our capabilities across high-growth end markets including automotive, communications, and industrial, creating new and highly compelling opportunities for Skyworks. By leveraging our global sales channels, operational scale, and deep customer relationships, Skyworks is well-positioned to drive above-market growth, while diversifying revenues, expanding margins, and delivering strong returns in earnings and cash generation.”
Silicon Labs CEO Tyson Tuttle added: "With our companies’ shared cultures of design excellence and customer collaboration, I am confident that the Infrastructure & Automotive team will continue their decades-long history of delivering industry-leading innovations."
Skyworks' move into the automotive market comes as car companies are struggling to make vehicles amid a global semiconductor shortage.
This week Jaguar Land Rover said that it would join a number of carmakers in temporarily shutting down two of its main car plants thanks to a lack of chips.
“We have adjusted production schedules for certain vehicles which means that our Castle Bromwich and Halewood manufacturing plants will be operating a limited period of non-production from Monday 26th April,” the company said in a statement.
