US defence supplier Microsemi to buy Actel Corp for $430 million

Microsemi Corporation, a manufacturer of qualified high reliability medical, military and aerospace products, today said it will acquire Actel Corporation for $430 million in cash, to expand in the defence and aerospace market.

Mountain View, California-based Actel is a leading supplier of low-power, mixed-signal, and radiation-tolerant field programmable gate arrays serving the defence and aerospace, industrial, communication, and consumer markets.

The company is the leader in the satellite and space markets due to its deep knowledge of radiation tolerance, space-level qualifications, and its long history of service excellence.

Under the deal that has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Microsemi will commence a cash tender offer to acquire Actel's outstanding common stock at $20.88 per share, net to each holder in cash.

Microsemi expects significant synergies from this immediately accretive transaction. Based on current assumptions, Microsemi expects the acquisition to be $0.22 to $0.28 accretive in its first full calendar year ending December 2011.

"We believe the addition of Actel will deliver compelling synergies to Microsemi," stated James Peterson, Microsemi president and CEO. "Actel will bring the most widely-used mixed-signal, radiation tolerant FPGA products in the aerospace and defence markets today, and the company's products will allow Microsemi to extend its growing system-level capabilities."