Series of Acquisitions
Analog Devices (ADI), a renowned American Multinational semiconductor company, recently announced their intention to acquire Maxim Integrated, a respected signal processing and power management franchise. Like its many megacorporation peers, ADI has exhibited a tendency towards acquisition in the past. In recent years, ADI has made other notable moves such as in 2014, when ADI acquired Hittite, a major player in the RF world to expand its product offerings in the RF spectrum, microwave, and millimetre-wave technologies. Another one was the 2016 acquisition of Linear Technologies, which put ADI in a position of dominance in the analog space, in addition to gaining ownership in the popular LTspice simulator software.
Services offered by Maxim Integrated
Over the last few years, Maxim has served up precision sensors, security solutions, and power management products. In particular, ADI stands to gain Maxim’s expertise in wearables, particularly those with an eye towards medical applications such as biometrics monitoring. Maxim’s most recent optical sensor technology for health-monitoring smart watches is a testament to its innovations in biometric wearables. The company released its own wearable, the MAX-HEALTH-BAND product in 2018. It was intended to promote biometric monitoring for improved preventive healthcare. ADI also has its own healthcare-focused pavilion of products, thus the merger of the two companies’ assets will be interesting.
Deal yet to be finalized
The acquisition is not yet complete. It will take months for finalization, including regulatory approval. This process doesn’t always result in successful acquisitions. Recall that the $44 billion Qualcomm-NXP merger, first announced in 2016, was ultimately nixed two years later. In that instance, Netherland based NXP was set to be acquired by US-based Qualcomm, but the deal was shut down by officiating bodies in China who cited an antitrust law. The deal may take time when companies in question are as large as Maxim and ADI because the regulatory issue becomes a prime topic of discussion.
