Atmel rejects $2.3 billion buyout bid
Chipmaker says unsolicited bid was ?opportunistic?
By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 11/5/2008 11:19:00 AM
Executives at chipmaker Atmel are committed to their restructuring plan and last week rejected a $2.3 billion buyout proposal from Microchip and ON Semiconductor, blasting its competitors for making the proposal.
Microchip was interested in acquiring only Atmel's microcontroller business, so the proposal was built around the sale of Atmel's nonvolatile memory and radio frequency and automotive units to Phoenix-based ON.
In a letter to ON and Microchip, Amtel CEO Steven Laub says: “Atmel is currently implementing an aggressive transformation plan, improving both Atmel's cost structure and product focus. Contrary to your assertions, we are achieving significant success in this regard. Your unsolicited proposal is highly opportunistic and delivers neither fair nor full value to Atmel's stockholders.”
Laub says Atmel is seeing soft demand, and expects a challenging fourth quarter. That's why he told a conference call last week that Amtel's restructuring to a company focused on microcontrollers is on track--as the firm already has divested or closed 14 non-core product lines and will reduce its number of fabs from five to two by the end of the year.