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The Finance Base
datacom

Why Micrel Bought Synergy Semiconductor in 1998

Micrel’s proposed $13 million cash acquisition of Synergy Semiconductor promised telecom and datacom expertise, a broad chip portfolio and additional design and fabrication capabilities.

By TheFinanceBase Team 2 min read

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Micrel announced a $13 million cash agreement to acquire Synergy Semiconductor in October 1998, seeking entry into telecom and datacom markets and a broader communications-chip portfolio. The deal also offered design and manufacturing assets that Micrel could use as it grew.

Why did Micrel buy Synergy Semiconductor?

Micrel said Synergy’s communications expertise would complement its analog power integrated-circuit business and help it reach telecom and datacom customers. Micrel chairman Raymond Zinn pointed to Synergy’s design team, customer base, process technology and wafer-fabrication facility as assets that fit Micrel’s strengths.

Capacity was also part of the rationale. Nationsbanc Montgomery Securities analyst Doug Lee said Micrel was “running out of space” and that an acquisition could provide a good fab and room to continue growing. His comments framed the facility as a potential way to address a constraint, not as a documented guarantee of future capacity or sales.

How much did Micrel pay for Synergy?

The October 22, 1998 announcement described a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding Synergy shares for approximately $13 million in cash. The companies’ 1997 revenue provides scale for the offer, but revenue is not the same as profit or company value:

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Company or deal Figure Period and qualification
Synergy Semiconductor revenue $37.4 million 1997 revenue
Micrel revenue $104.2 million 1997 revenue
Micrel expected sales About $140 million 1998 estimate attributed to analysts cited by EDN, not a reported final result
Synergy acquisition price Approximately $13 million cash Announced offer for all outstanding shares in October 1998

The price was roughly 35% of Synergy’s 1997 revenue ($13 million divided by $37.4 million), a comparison of the announced cash offer with one year of sales—not a valuation multiple based on earnings and not evidence of the final transaction terms.

What products did Synergy make?

Founded in 1987, Synergy made more than 200 products. Its portfolio included communication transceivers; clock generators and distribution or clock-recovery circuits; and high-speed logic and memory. The breadth mattered to Micrel because it combined communications-related products with technical and manufacturing capabilities.

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How did the deal expand Micrel into telecom and datacom?

Synergy’s communications portfolio and expertise in SONET, gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel gave Micrel a route into telecom and datacom applications beyond its existing analog power IC focus. The strategic logic was not simply to add products: Synergy also brought customer relationships, a design team, process technology and a wafer-fabrication facility, which Micrel said complemented its own capabilities.

The announcement came during a period of strong reported growth at Micrel. For the quarter ended September 30, 1998, Micrel reported revenue of $35.4 million, up 30% year over year; net income of $6.6 million, up 48%; and a gross margin of 55.6%, compared with 53.5% a year earlier. These figures describe Micrel’s quarterly performance before the proposed acquisition; they do not establish that Synergy caused the growth or predict the combined company’s results.

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Did the Micrel-Synergy merger close?

At announcement, both boards had unanimously approved the agreement, and the required Synergy shareholders had approved it. EDN reported that completion was expected within two to eight weeks. That was a forecast, not confirmation of completion: the October 1998 account does not establish whether or when the transaction ultimately closed.

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