Chip Buyout Renesas to buy Intersil

If you've been following along here for any length of time, you may remember in May of this year, and interesting headline about Intersil, and their laser heads up display. They had an answer to a technical question. They have been cooperating with Microvision -- to what degree, and how much currently, we don't know. The word was that a temperature specification had been achieved that would allow automotive laser Heads Up Displays. (It gets very cold and very hot in automobiles.)

So, this purchase is of interest. Not sure what it means yet, but these two companies seem to have some compatibilities -- and it will probably have an effect on Microvision. 

E_Week

Japanese chip maker Renesas reportedly is in the final stages of a deal to buy U.S. rival Intersil for about $3 billion as it looks to bolster its position in the growing automotive technology space.

Reports from numerous news sites this week said the company, which competes with the likes of NXP and Infineon and is seeing other chip makers like Intel and Nvidia pushing their way into the autonomous vehicle space, could announce the acquisition soon.

The deal would continue a consolidation trend in the semiconductor industry as chip makers buy rivals to build out their capabilities and address such emerging trends as self-driving cars, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), mobility and the cloud. High-profile acquisitions in recent years include Intel buying programmable chip maker Altera for $16.7 billion, NXP acquiring Freescale for $12 billion and Avago Technologies grabbing Broadcom for $37 billion in a move to broaden its capabilities in such areas as IoT.

INTERSIL Website

Sharp Foxconn Deal

This deal could be very meaningful for MicroVision. Watch this closely. From the conflicting reports, a deal could be announced, any time -- before, during or after this week's conference call.

Sharp is using PicoP in RoBoHon -- but they also showed PicoP during the wearables conference, and showed two different engines -- clearly they intend to sell it as a component. Other than SONY - there is no company better position to sell picop as a component than Foxconn.

Given the language used about this deal and the conditions of the two companies, I am virtually certain that the deal will be done. I think the haggling right now is over the price and the terms.

Stay tuned.

Wall Street Journal

The two companies aim to seal a near-US$6 billion deal early next week after one more round of negotiation, the people said. Foxconn and Sharp are optimistic that the Japanese company’s recent disclosure of an additional ¥350 billion in contingent liabilities or potential financial risk, won’t derail the deal, the people said.

Since Monday, Foxconn and Sharp have deployed hundreds of people across all of Sharp’s locations to study the latest list of financial risk, the people said. The teams have been meeting around the clock and late into the night to determine whether the new risks are acceptable, the people said. 

(Be sure they are also studying the opportunities!)

Foxconn’s offer was double what a government-backed Japanese fund—Innovation Network Corp. of Japan—was offering and included relief for Sharp’s two main banks, which are saddled with the company’s debt.

Financial Times

Foxconn’s Gou determined not to lose Sharp

For an executive with a reputation as a control freak, Terry Gou corralled an astonishingly large battalion of advisers in his $6bn battle to buy the Japanese technology group Sharp.

The charismatic and unpredictable founder of Foxconn, accustomed to conducting his own deals, supplemented his ranks with influential Japanese megabanks and hired JPMorgan to help in its dealings with Sharp and the powerful Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti).

The advisory army is testament to Mr Gou’s determination to ensure Sharp, which makes screens for mobiles and TVs, does not slip from his grasp as it did four years ago.

He expects to have a revised deal signed by Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. “Things are on the right track,” said one.