Silicon Labs to acquire ARM cortex MCU specialist Energy Micro

Date: 07/06/2013
Silicon Labs has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Energy Micro AS Based in Oslo, Norway. Energy Micro designs and produces 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) and is developing multi-protocol wireless RF solutions based on the popular ARM Cortex-M architecture. Energy Micro's products target applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), smart energy, home automation, security and portable electronics markets.

Under the agreement, the shareholders of Energy Micro will receive an up-front payment of $115 million in cash, plus approximately $55 million in deferred and earn-out consideration. The acquisition is being funded from balance sheet cash resources and will require no borrowing. Energy Micro is expected to contribute approximately $7 million in revenue in the second half of 2013. Anticipated growth is expected to allow the transaction to be accretive on a non-GAAP basis by the end of 2014. The boards of each company have approved the acquisition, which awaits the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The deal is expected to close in July 2013.

“The Energy Micro team is excited to join Silicon Labs,” said Geir Førre, president and CEO of Energy Micro, who after the closing, is expected to become vice president and general manager of Silicon Lab’s Energy-Friendly Microcontroller and Radio business unit, based in Oslo. “Silicon Labs’ excellent resources and technology will help the combined company develop new products and gain market share more quickly. The combination of our broad portfolios of energy-friendly MCU, radio, wireless connectivity and sensing solutions will redefine ‘ultra-low power’ for the embedded industry. Our unified solutions will give customers a large choice of 32-bit microcontroller and sub-GHz, ZigBee and Bluetooth LE connectivity options based on the most energy-efficient ARM platforms in the industry,” he said.

“Silicon Labs and Energy Micro share a complementary vision of a greener, smarter, wirelessly connected world, and the foundation for this combined vision is ultra-low-power technology enabled by each company’s innovative mixed-signal design,” said Tyson Tuttle, president and CEO of Silicon Labs. “This acquisition combines two proven leaders in nano-power MCU and wireless SoC design into a formidable force that will accelerate the deployment of energy-friendly solutions across the Internet of Things and smart energy industries.”