Some of this is, of course, industry speculation; some has a bit more credibility. In the latest bout of merger mania, Analog Devices is reportedly eyeing up Maxim Integrated, whilst Fairchild is ‘in talks’ with Infineon and On Semiconductor. Meanwhile, memory company SanDisk is looking for a buyer. And there are other more speculative rumours doing the rounds.
Meanwhile, some old favourites have reappeared, including Apple buying ARM.
All of this activity has been good, no doubt, for shareholders; share prices in all companies jumped. Profit has probably been taken as prices fell back after their initial spike.
This activity now seems to have a momentum all of its own. You wonder which company will be next to put the ‘for sale’ sign up – and, more importantly, why?
