Marvell Technology to acquire US semiconductor company Inphi for $10bn

Marvell Technology Group, a Bermuda-based infrastructure semiconductor solutions provider, has agreed to acquire US semiconductor company Inphi in a cash-cum-stock deal worth $10 billion.

Post-acquisition, Marvell Technology Group plans to domicile the enlarged company in the US, which will have an enterprise value of about $40 billion.

Inphi’s high-speed data interconnect platform uniquely suited to meet the ever growing demand for higher bandwidth and low power for the cloud data centers and global networks of the future.

The company’s high-speed electro-optics portfolio is said to offer the connectivity fabric for cloud data centers and wired and wireless carrier networks.

By bringing together the storage, networking, processor, and security portfolio of Marvell Technology Group and Inphi’s electro-optics interconnect platform, the enlarged company is expected to become an end-to-end technology leader in data infrastructure.

Marvell Technology Group stated that the acquisition will bolster its customer base and will also boost its position in hyperscale cloud data centers and also 5G wireless infrastructure.

Matt Murphy – president and CEO of Marvell Technology Group said: “Inphi’s technologies are at the heart of cloud data center networks and they continue to extend their leadership with innovative new products, including 400G data center interconnect optical modules, which leverage their unique silicon photonics and DSP technologies.

“We believe that Inphi’s growing presence with cloud customers will also lead to additional opportunities for Marvell’s DPU and ASIC products.”

Marvell Technology acquisition of Inphi. Photo courtesy of Roopsagar/Wikipedia.org.

As per the terms of the deal, Inphi’s shareholders will exchange each of their shares in the company for $66 in cash and 2.323 shares in the combined company.

The exchange ratio means that the original shareholders of Marvell Technology Group will own about 83% of the combined company, while the shareholders of Inphi will own the remaining 17% stake.

Ford Tamer – President and CEO of Inphi said: “Marvell and Inphi share a vision to enable the world’s data infrastructure and we have both transformed our respective businesses to benefit from the strong secular growth expected in the cloud data center and 5G wireless markets.

“Combining with Marvell significantly increases our scale, accelerates our access to the next generations of process technology, and opens up new opportunities in 5G connectivity.”

The transaction is expected to be wrapped up by the second half of 2021, once it gets the approval of shareholders of the two companies, besides meeting the customary closing conditions, which include the relevant regulatory approvals.