Cypress Semiconductor raises offer for Integrated Silicon Solution to $20.25 per share

Cypress Semiconductor Corp yesterday raised its offer to acquire Integrated Silicon Solution Inc (ISSI) to $20.25 per share in cash, outbidding the $20 per share offer from Uphill Investment Co.

ISSI, which makes integrated circuits for auto, communications, industrial and digital consumer, had in March announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Chinese investors led by Summitview Capital for $19.25 a share, or about $640 million.

Summitview Capital yesterday raised its offer to $20 a share after Cypress tabled an unsolicited $19.75 a share bid.

Apart from the superior offer Cypress said its transaction faces less closing risk from US and Taiwanese regulators than the consortium, which would need approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.

It also said that its proposal does not contain any financing conditions and includes a representation and warranty that it will have all the funds available as and when needed to close the deal.

Cypress produces chips for most advanced embedded systems, from automotive, industrial and networking platforms to highly interactive consumer and mobile devices.

The California-based company's product portfolio includes NOR flash memories, F-RAM and SRAM, Traveo microcontrollers, the industry's only PSoC programmable system-on-chip solutions, analog and PMIC Power Management ICs, CapSense capacitive touch-sensing controllers, and Wireless BLE Bluetooth Low-Energy and USB connectivity solutions.

ISSI, also based in California, designs, develops, and markets high performance integrated circuits for the automotive, communications, digital consumer, and industrial and medical.

Its primary products are high speed and low power SRAM and low and medium density DRAM. The Company also designs and markets NOR flash products and high performance analog and mixed signal integrated circuits.

It has expanded its presence in the Asian market by adding design groups in China, Korea and Taiwan, where it now employs over 80 design, product, and test engineers.

Its customers include Panasonic, Bosch, Mobis, Delphi, Continental, Johnson Controls, Philips, Harman/Becker, SiriusXM, TRW, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Huawei Technologies, Nokia Siemens Networks, Tellabs, Motorola, ZTE, Garmin, LG Electronics, NEC, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, Hypercom, GE, Honeywell, Raytheon, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and Tyco.