Chipmaker Analog Devices Agrees To Buy Rival Maxim Integrated In Biggest Deal Of The Year

A deal that was teased last night by WSJ has just been officially confirmed: semiconductor maker Analog Devices has agreed to buy rival Maxim Integrated Products for roughly $20.91 billion all in stock, for what many M&A experts believe could be the largest deal of the year.

It comes as more semiconductor makers seek scale and more diverse offerings in an ultracompetitive market where Apple just dealt veteran player Intel a major blow by cutting out its chips. As computer chips are implanted in more items from cars to household products – continuing to build on the so-called “Internet of Things”.

According to the terms disclosed in a press release, Maxim stockholders will receive 0.630/share of Analog Devices stock for each share of Maxim common stock they hold when the deal closes.

While Analog’s chips focusing mor eon computing, Maxim’s semiconductors are used in settings from automobiles to health-care, sectors where Analog doesn’t have a large presence. According to WSJ, the deal talks have been ongoing for years. But the time wasn’t right until the present market chaos. Analog has a market value of roughly $46 billion and is based in Norwood, Mass.

Read the press release here:

Analog Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADI) and Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXIM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which ADI will acquire Maxim in an all stock transaction that values the combined enterprise at over $68 billion2. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, will strengthen ADI as an analog semiconductor leader with increased breadth and scale across multiple attractive end markets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Maxim stockholders will receive 0.630 of a share of ADI common stock for each share of Maxim common stock they hold at the closing of the transaction. Upon closing, current ADI stockholders will own approximately 69 percent of the combined company, while Maxim stockholders will own approximately 31 percent. The transaction is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

“Today’s exciting announcement with Maxim is the next step in ADI’s vision to bridge the physical and digital worlds. ADI and Maxim share a passion for solving our customers’ most complex problems, and with the increased breadth and depth of our combined technology and talent, we will be able to develop more complete, cutting-edge solutions,” said Vincent Roche, President and CEO of ADI.

“Maxim is a respected signal processing and power management franchise with a proven technology portfolio and impressive history of empowering design innovation. Together, we are well-positioned to deliver the next wave of semiconductor growth, while engineering a healthier, safer and more sustainable future for all.”

“For over three decades, we have based Maxim on one simple premise – to continually innovate and develop high-performance semiconductor products that empower our customers to invent. I am excited for this next chapter as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible, together with ADI. Both companies have strong engineering and technology know-how and innovative cultures.

Working together, we will create a stronger leader, delivering outstanding benefits to our customers, employees and shareholders,” said Tunç Doluca, President and CEO of Maxim Integrated.

Upon closing, two Maxim directors will join ADI’s Board of Directors, including Maxim President and CEO, Tunç Doluca.

Compelling Strategic and Financial Rationale

Industry Leader with Increased Global Scale: The combination strengthens ADI’s analog semiconductor leadership position with expected revenue of $8.2 billion1 and free cash flow of $2.7 billion1 on a pro forma basis. Maxim’s strength in the automotive and data center markets, combined with ADI’s strength across the broad industrial, communications and digital healthcare markets are highly complementary and aligned with key secular growth trends. With respect to power management, Maxim’s applications-focused product offerings complement ADI’s catalog of broad market products.

Enhanced Domain Expertise & Capabilities: Combining best-in-class technologies will enhance ADI’s depth of domain expertise and engineering capabilities from DC to 100 gigahertz, nanowatts to kilowatts and sensor to cloud, with more than 50,000 products. This will enable the combined company to offer more complete solutions, serve more than 125,000 customers and capture a larger share of a $60 billion total addressable market3.

Shared Passion for Innovation-led Growth: The combination brings together similar cultures focused on talent, innovation and engineering excellence with more than 10,000 engineers and approximately $1.5 billion1 in annual research and development investment. The combined company will continue to be a destination for the most talented engineers in multiple domains.

Earnings Accretion & Cost Savings: This transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted EPS in 18 months subsequent to closing with $275 million of cost synergies by the end of year two, driven primarily by lower operating expenses and cost of goods sold. Additional cost synergies from manufacturing optimization are expected to be realized by the end of year three subsequent to closing.

Strong Financial Position & Cash Flow Generation: ADI expects the combined company to yield a stronger balance sheet, with a pro forma net leverage ratio of approximately 1.2×4. This transaction is also expected to be accretive to free cash flow at close, enabling additional returns to shareholders.

Timing and Approvals

The transaction is expected to close in the summer of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of U.S. and certain non-U.S. regulatory approvals, and approval by stockholders of both companies.

Advisors

Morgan Stanley served as lead financial advisor to ADI. BofA Securities also served as a financial advisor. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal counsel.

J.P. Morgan served as exclusive financial advisor to Maxim, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as legal counsel.