Dialog Semiconductor: Apple chip supplier may be acquired by Renesas Electronics for $6 billion

Dialog Semiconductor Plc just confirmed the reports that it is in talks with Renesas Electronics corp for a possible sales deal. It was said that the latter might acquire Apple’s chip supplier for $6 billion if the talks go smoothly and terms are met.

The acquisition deal is not yet final

Reuters reported that the ongoing talks between Dialog and Renesas are already in the advanced stage, but specific details about it are still not available as of this time. The chip designer just revealed about acquisition talks on Sunday.

It was said that Dialog will release more details when there is a need to. The company clarified that while the talks are in progress, it is still not certain if any company will present a solid offer that may seal a deal.

Renesas also released a statement via the Tokyo Stock Exchange and affirmed it is considering the purchase of Dialog. Based on regulations, if it really has plans to go on with the acquisition, the Japanese semiconductor manufacturer must disclose its intention to buy the American chipmaker by March 7.

Renesas and Dialog’s collaboration

The two semiconductor companies actually collaborated before the talks of the acquisition surfaced. As mentioned on Bloomberg, both sides agreed to further extend their partnership last year.

“The expanded collaboration between Dialog and Renesas enables the leading automotive Tier-1 suppliers to deliver differentiated, reliable, high-performance and cost-effective electronic systems based on the industry-leading R-Car platforms,” Tom Sandoval, Dialog’s senior vice president of automotive business division, said via press release at that time. “As processing power demands and platform-specific requirements continue to increase across automotive systems, our collaboration with Renesas delivers significant benefits to our joint customers.”

Now their partnership has progressed to something more, and there is a possibility of an acquisition. In any case, it was said that Dialog Semiconductor is also having talks with was STMicroelectronics NV before it was outbid.

Meanwhile, shares of Dialog Semiconductor shoots up by about 25% since the beginning of this year. The increase was attributed to the strong demand for Apple’s 5G smartphones since the company is its main chip supplier. The speculations about a takeover are also said to be another reason for the boost.