NXP Semiconductors to acquire Freescale for US$11.8b

[NEW YORK] NXP Semiconductors NV agreed to acquire Freescale Semiconductor Ltd., an Austin, Texas-based chip company, for about US$11.8 billion in cash and stock.

Freescale shareholders will receive US$6.25 in cash and 0.3521 of an NXP share for each Freescale common share, the companies said Sunday in a statement. Including Freescale's debt, the purchase price is about US$16.7 billion, according to the statement.

Both companies are major suppliers of chips for use in cars and have benefited from the increased use of electronics in vehicles.

Freescale was taken private before the financial crisis and, while it now has publicly traded shares, is 64 per cent owned by private-equity companies including Carlyle Group, TPG Group Holdings and Blackstone Group. NXP, the former semiconductor arm of Koninklijke Philips NV, was also taken private and returned to the market in a 2013 IPO.

BLOOMBERG