Cypress makes new offer to acquire Ramtron
1 min read
Cypress Semiconductor has made another offer to acquire Ramtron. The company made an offer to buy Ramtron in 2011, but Ramtron's board rejected it out of hand, saying considering the offer was not worth its while. So far, Ramtron has only acknowledged receipt of 'an unsolicited proposal' from Cypress. According to speculation, the offer values Ramtron at something in excess of $80million.
"We believe that our offer provides compelling value to Ramtron's stockholders," said TJ Rodgers, pictured, Cypress' president and ceo. "Last year, we attempted to negotiate an acquisition of Ramtron, but our offer ... was summarily rejected."
Ramtron has pioneered ferroelectric ram (fram), applying the technology into a range of products. FRAM brings a number of benefits over competing memory technologies, including fast write speed, higher endurance and lower power consumption. Among the technologies with which it competes are eeprom and flash – both offered by Cypress.
Amongst Rodgers' communications with Ramtron's ceo Bill Howard – which Cypress has since made public – is the statement that, should the offer be accepted, Cypress 'could bring immediate relief to Ramtron's customers by rationing the scarce supply of frams'. While Cypress cannot supply fram technology itself, Rodgers is suggesting those customers who wouldn't qualify for fram could be served by products based on Cypress' flash replacement technology SONOS.
