Author Archives: david manners

Lattice buys Silicon Image

Lattice CEO Darin Billerbeck

Lattice CEO Darin Billerbeck

Lattice Semiconductor has bought HD connectivity specialist Silicon Image for $600 million which is 23.7% over yesterday’s Silicon Image share price.

“Lattice created the market for programmable connectivity solutions in the consumer market,” says Lattice CEO Darin Billerbeck, “Silicon Image has established numerous global technology standards, and built a highly valued intellectual property portfolio in wired connectivity, millimeter wave wireless technology and software services solutions.”

The transaction will be funded through a combination of cash on hand and new debt financing. Lattice has received a financing commitment of $350 million from Jefferies Finance LLC.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close by the end of March 2015. Pursuant to the definitive agreement, a subsidiary of Lattice Semiconductor will commence a tender offer for 100% of the outstanding shares of Silicon Image common stock for $7.30 per share in cash.

The tender offer is required to be commenced within 10 business days and to remain open for at least 20 business days after launch. Following completion of the tender offer, any shares not acquired in the tender offer will be acquired in a second-step merger at the same per share cash price.

The main benefits of the merger are said to be ‘programmable connectivity’ and $32 million of potential synergies in the first year.

david manners

Lattice buys Silicon Image

Lattice CEO Darin Billerbeck

Lattice CEO Darin Billerbeck

Lattice Semiconductor has bought HD connectivity specialist Silicon Image for $600 million which is 23.7% over yesterday’s Silicon Image share price.

“Lattice created the market for programmable connectivity solutions in the consumer market,” says Lattice CEO Darin Billerbeck, “Silicon Image has established numerous global technology standards, and built a highly valued intellectual property portfolio in wired connectivity, millimeter wave wireless technology and software services solutions.”

The transaction will be funded through a combination of cash on hand and new debt financing. Lattice has received a financing commitment of $350 million from Jefferies Finance LLC.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close by the end of March 2015. Pursuant to the definitive agreement, a subsidiary of Lattice Semiconductor will commence a tender offer for 100% of the outstanding shares of Silicon Image common stock for $7.30 per share in cash.

The tender offer is required to be commenced within 10 business days and to remain open for at least 20 business days after launch. Following completion of the tender offer, any shares not acquired in the tender offer will be acquired in a second-step merger at the same per share cash price.

The main benefits of the merger are said to be ‘programmable connectivity’ and $32 million of potential synergies in the first year.

david manners

EU VC-backed IPOs triple in 2014

EU flag€7.9 billion of VC money was invested in Europe last year, up from €6.3 billion in 2013 but down from the record-breaking €10.6 billion of 2001, says Dow Jones VentureSource.

Last year’s investments were driven by a tripling of VC-backed IPOs to 55 raising €3.7 billion compared to the 18 VC-backed IPOs of 2013 which raised €500 million.

Rocket Internet was Europe’s largest VC-backed IPO last year, raising €1.4 billion on the Frankfurt exchange in October.

The two biggest VC investors in Europe last year were High-Tech Gruenderfonds Management of Germany with 51 VC investments and, in second place, a tie between Index Ventures and the Russian Internet Initiatives Development Fund which each made 31 VC investments.

david manners

EU VC-backed IPOs triple in 2014

EU flag€7.9 billion of VC money was invested in Europe last year, up from €6.3 billion in 2013 but down from the record-breaking €10.6 billion of 2001, says Dow Jones VentureSource.

Last year’s investments were driven by a tripling of VC-backed IPOs to 55 raising €3.7 billion compared to the 18 VC-backed IPOs of 2013 which raised €500 million.

Rocket Internet was Europe’s largest VC-backed IPO last year, raising €1.4 billion on the Frankfurt exchange in October.

The two biggest VC investors in Europe last year were High-Tech Gruenderfonds Management of Germany with 51 VC investments and, in second place, a tie between Index Ventures and the Russian Internet Initiatives Development Fund which each made 31 VC investments.

david manners

Fujitsu starts mass GaN production

Fujitsu’s 150mm wafer fab in Aizu-Wakamatsu has started mass production of GaN power devices for Transphorm’s power modules.

Transphorm has a 600V GaN device platform which delivers photovoltaic power conditioners, AC adapters, power supplies for PCs, servers and telecom equipment, and motion control systems.

“The start of mass production in a CMOS-compatible fab is a significant step forward toward achieving the widespread use of GaN power devices,” says Haruki Okada, President of Fujitsu Semiconductor.

“Manufacturing Transphorm’s GaN power devices at Aizu-Wakamatsu will assure our customers a scalable, stable supply of products with the stamp of Fujitsu’s standards in mass manufacturing,” says Transphorm CEO Fumihide Esaka.

david manners

IQE on a roll

IQE_SiMachine1Compound semiconductor wafer supplier IQE is on a sharp growth curve having achieved a market share of over 50% following a £50 million supply contract signed this month.

“We are excited by the market developments that are leading to the increasing deployment of compound semiconductor solutions across a range of applications, and that consequently offer potential for IQE to deliver continued steady growth as a result of the Group’s unique position in the Compound Semiconductor materials marketplace,” says Dr Drew Nelson, CEO of IQE.

IQE has moved its solar compound photovoltaic technology from the development stage into pilot production and received initial orders for the technology in Q4.

Revenue for 2014 is expected to be approximately £112 million with H2 revenues of about £60 million.

EBITDA is expected to be up by about 8% year on year at approximately £27 million following a second half EBITDA of approximately £16 million.

Net debt fell from £34 million to £31 million in the course of the year despite restructuring costs of £5 million. Further reductions of net debt are expected during 2015.

IQE sells into the wireless communications market and into consumer and industrial applications using advanced photonic lasers and sensors, high resolution infrared systems, advanced solar power (CPV), high efficiency LED lighting, and efficient power switching.

80% of IQE’s sales are coming from the mobile sector which is expected to show further strong growth driven by the proliferation of increasingly complex wireless communication devices and systems such as LTE/4G, dual band WiFi, and GPS location devices, which require increasingly complex compound semiconductor solutions.

IQE’s photonics business grew 20% in the year and now accounts for 14% of the business driven by the deployment of high capacity optical data transmission and storage.

IQE’s infrared business won an order in October 2014 for $1.1 million and another in January 2015 for $3.25 million.

Significant progress has been made in IQE’s Gallium Nitride technology platforms, particularly for base station and power switching applications and a major supply relationship with MACOM has been signed.

‘We are working with leading silicon chip companies and on a number of major government-funded programmes to develop the next generation of technology which will combine the scale and maturity of the silicon industry with the advanced properties of compound semiconductors,’ says IQE,

david manners

Prolonged IC industry upswing ahead, says Future Horizons

Malcolm Penn - Future Horizons

Malcolm Penn – Future Horizons

It is time to prepare for one of the strongest and longest upswings in the semiconductor industry’s history, it was stated at the Future Horizons’ IFS 2015 forecast meeting in London this morning.

“Every single duck is lined up for the industry to go into a prolonged market upturn,” said Malcolm Penn, CEO of Future Horizons.

The industry grew at 9.9% last year and ASPs have been rising for seven consecutive quarters and there have been twelve successive quarters of unit demand growth, said Penn.

“People don’t believe it,” said Penn, “it doesn’t fit with what they want to believe.”

One problem is that “too many people are talking the industry down,” said Penn instancing the SIA forecasting 3.4% industry growth in 2015 and 3.1% in 2016, “hardly a vote of confidence from the industry’s advocate,” commented Penn.

Other factors mandating the upswing are currently high fab utilisation rates, low levels of capex and negligible inventory builds. The auguries all point one way but the industry idn’t acting on them.

The ‘I want one more quarter syndrome’ is deeply embedded in peoples’ psyche, said Penn.

The macro indicators are also above the long-term trend. This week’s IMF GDP forecast is for 3.5% growth this year and 3.7% growth next year which are both ahead of long-term world GDP growth of 3.4%. In 2011-4 GDP growth was an above average 3.5%.

So the Future Horizons forecast for this year is for healthy 8.5% growth which will deliver an industry with $1 billion sales per day – $364 billion for the whole of this year.

If the 2014 recovery trend holds steady, however, the growth could hit15%, said Penn.

david manners

Consolidation on the cards for UK mobile operators

Apple iPhone 5S

Following the purchase of EE by BT, the UK mobile market may see a consolidation of carriers with 3 taking over O2.

O2 is owned by Spanish network operator which is struggling with heavy debts. Telefonica was in negotiations with BT about possible sale but any deal fell through when BT chose EE.

3 is owned by Hutchison of Hong Kong which is owned by Li Ka-shing.

3 is expected to have to pay $13.6 billion to buy O2.

A combined 3 and O2 would be the UK’s biggest mobile operator with 31 million subscribers.

An alternative option for Telefonica is to IPO O2.

david manners

AVX high CV wet tantalum capacitors match aqueous supercapacitors

AVX has introduced a series of high CV wet tantalum capacitors that the company says approach the ultra high volumetric capacitance densities of aqueous supercapacitors, as well as surmount their temperature and soldering limitations.

They are available on a 10- to 14-week lead-time.

Microsoft Word - twa_series.docDeveloped using a design process based on high CV tantalum powders, the TWD DCUltraMax Series High CV Wet Tantalum Capacitors achieve high DC capacitance values and, unlike aqueous supercapacitors, are rated for continuous high temperature operation to at least 85°C and are compatible with both wave and reflow soldering to a PCB, according to AVX.

Currently available with a CV value of 50mF at 6.3V, TWD DCUltraMax Series capacitors are used in a variety of harsh environment applications, including: pulse applications, energy harvesting, energy storage, military electronics, and avionics.

Rated for use in temperatures spanning -55°C to 85°C, capacitance and voltage values for the new TWD DCUltraMax Series span 50mF to 150mF and 6.3V to 2.5V, respectively. However, series extensions exhibiting CV values of 150mF at 2.5V and rated for maximum operating temperatures as high as 105°C are currently in development.

In addition to high CV, TWD DCUltraMax Series capacitors also exhibit a low DCL of 0.0001CV, do not require derating, and are available with lead-free or SnPb terminations. Packaged in a DSCC T4 case (AVX’s E case), the series measures 26.97mm in length and 9.52mm in diameter without an insulating sleeve or 10.31mm in diameter with an insulating sleeve. The terminal welded to each case measures 57.15mm.

david manners

Sparkling Dialog

Dialog share priceDialog had record revenues of $435 million in Q4 which were 24% up on Q4 2013.

Full year, 2014, revenues were $1.156 billion which is 28% up on 2013.

Dialog anticipates an increase in cash and cash equivalents of approximately $67 million in Q4 2014 which includes a $40 million early debt repayment.

The strong cash generation of the business has allowed the company to return to a bank debt free position significantly ahead of schedule.

At 31 December 2014 the company anticipates a cash and cash equivalent balance of approximately $325 million.

david manners