AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 25, 2003 -- Silicon Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: SLAB) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Austin-based Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc., an innovator in analog-intensive, highly integrated 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs). Cygnal’s portfolio of over 50 general-purpose products will add breadth and diversity to Silicon Laboratories’ existing product line of high-performance, application-specific mixed-signal ICs.
In connection with the acquisition, Silicon Laboratories will issue at closing approximately 1.2 million shares of common stock in exchange for all outstanding shares of Cygnal capital stock. Up to approximately 1.3 million additional shares of Silicon Laboratories common stock will be reserved for future issuance to the shareholders of Cygnal based on the achievement of certain revenue milestones following the closing of the transaction.
Cygnal’s C8051F family of microcontrollers is positioned at the intersection of the 8-bit MCU and the high-performance analog markets, which are estimated by Gartner to be $5 billion and $9 billion markets respectively. The Cygnal solution uniquely integrates intelligent data capture in the form of high-resolution data converters, a traditional MCU computing function, Flash memory and a highly programmable set of communication interfaces in a single system on a chip. The combination of configurable high-performance analog, 100 MIPS 8051 core and in-system field programmability provides the user with complete design flexibility, improved time-to-market, superior system performance and greater end product differentiation. This intersection is expected to become a sweet spot in large markets spanning consumer products and appliances, automotive, industrial systems, medical and networking applications.
“The acquisition of Cygnal reflects our strategy to further diversify our business and enhances our substantial development efforts underway on new products,” said Nav Sooch, chairman and chief executive officer of Silicon Laboratories. “Cygnal’s unique, analog-intensive approach delivers a highly differentiated product family that addresses the broad-based, high-margin, 8-bit MCU and general-purpose analog markets.”
“We have experienced strong initial acceptance of our products, shipping over 13,000 development systems and building a base of over 3000 customers,” said Derrell Coker, president and chief executive officer of Cygnal Integrated Products. “Silicon Laboratories’ well developed marketing capabilities, sales channel and market position offer an exciting means to gain increased share among the global customer base.”
“Cygnal is a clear match for Silicon Laboratories in terms of products, culture and engineering focus, making it a unique case where acquisition made sense within our strategic objectives,” said Dan Artusi, president and chief operating officer. “We believe that Silicon Laboratories’ strong global market presence will result in broader acceptance of Cygnal’s compelling product portfolio.”
The acquisition is expected to be slightly dilutive to Silicon Laboratories in 2004, becoming accretive during 2005. The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the merger, which awaits the satisfaction of regulatory requirements, approval by Cygnal’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions.
About Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc.
Cygnal, a private fabless semiconductor company based in Austin, Texas, was founded in 1999 and has 62 employees. Cygnal has 35 patents pending or issued on its family of analog-intensive, high-speed 8-bit MCUs that serve a broad range of markets and customers. Cygnal raised approximately $36 million in venture capital funding from Alliance Technology Ventures, Austin Ventures, Bank of America Venture Partners (BAVP) and other venture and private investors. For more information about Cygnal, please visit www.cygnal.com.
About Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Silicon Laboratories Inc. is a leading designer of high-performance, analog-intensive mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) for a broad range of applications. Silicon Laboratories’ diverse portfolio of highly integrated, patented solutions is developed by a world-class engineering team with decades of cumulative expertise in cutting-edge mixed-signal design. The company has design, engineering, marketing, sales and applications offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For more information about Silicon Laboratories please visit www.silabs.com
Forward-Looking Statements are omitted