Singapore’s competition watchdog clears Texas Instruments’ proposed acquisition of Silicon Labs

[SINGAPORE] The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) has granted clearance for the proposed acquisition of wireless technology company Silicon Laboratories by US chip manufacturing giant Texas Instruments (TI), the watchdog announced on Friday (Aug 7).

Following an assessment of market submissions and third-party feedback, the antitrust regulator concluded that the proposed transaction will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition across relevant global semiconductor markets.

Both entities are public companies listed on Nasdaq. Their activities, along with those of their subsidiaries, extend to Singapore.

Both are active in the supply of semiconductor products which are used in a wide range of everyday products, including remote keyless entry systems for cars, continuous glucose monitors, power tools, electronic door locks and touch panels.

TI is a global semiconductor enterprise that designs, manufactures and sells analogue and embedded processing chips to electronics designers and manufacturers worldwide.

Silicon Labs is a US-headquartered fabless semiconductor group that primarily designs and develops wireless connectivity solutions featuring integrated system-on-chips. Its international headquarters for the Asia-Pacific and Europe regions is in Singapore.

CCS findings

CCS evaluated the competitive impact across five key product categories where both companies supply products globally to global customers.

This includes wireless connectivity system-on-chips, non-wireless microcontroller units, power management integrated circuits, sensors and universal serial bus bridges.

During its review, CCS examined whether the merged entity would possess the ability or incentive to raise prices, reduce product quality, or reduce choices for customers. The watchdog determined that the relevant markets are likely to remain competitive post-transaction.

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CCS established that TI and Silicon Labs are not each other’s closest competitors and will continue to face strong competition from numerous established global suppliers.

The presence of many competitors alongside individually negotiated pricing arrangements makes coordinated conduct unlikely. The merged entity is also unlikely to have sufficient market power to foreclose competitors, CCS said.