Analog, Power & Discrete

Cirrus Logic offered to acquire Synaptics in September as the chipmaker sought to fend off a competing bid from ON Semiconductor, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The report follows onsemi's agreement last week to acquire Synaptics for $123 per share in an all-cash deal worth roughly $5.7B, a revision of its previous all-stock bid worth about $7B disclosed in June. Onsemi changed the deal terms after receiving an unsolicited competing proposal from a third party, according to a statement that did not name the bidder. Austin-based Cirrus Logic is the Party A mentioned in an updated proxy filing from Synaptics on Thursday, the people said, and the filing indicated Synaptics board members seriously evaluated Cirrus Logic's cash and stock bid and held discussions with the company before settling on Onsemi's revised offer. It is unclear whether Cirrus Logic continues to have buyout interest in Synaptics, the people added, while representatives for Cirrus Logic and Onsemi declined to comment and Synaptics did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ST Wingtech has set up a new semiconductor company in Wuxi. According to Qichacha APP, Wenshixin Wuxi Semiconductor Co., Ltd. was recently established, with Yang Mu as its legal representative and registered capital of 10 million yuan. The company's business scope includes manufacturing electronic components, manufacturing power electronic components, manufacturing special equipment for semiconductor devices, and manufacturing integrated circuit chips and products. Qichacha equity penetration shows that Wenshixin Wuxi Semiconductor Co., Ltd. is indirectly wholly owned by ST Wingtech.

Semtech's modeled fair value has been lifted from US$204.83 to US$210.33, reflecting a modestly higher assessment of the stock's worth in the updated framework. The revision follows a broad pattern of raised price targets from Oppenheimer, Roth Capital, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Seaport Research, and BMO Capital, tied largely to stronger expected contributions from data center and LoRa. Oppenheimer noted that data center exposure has shifted from about 5% of sales a couple of years ago to a figure it expects to exceed 40% by the end of the current year, while Roth Capital and UBS said data center and LoRa together are approaching 60% of the mix and supporting expanding gross margins over time. Morgan Stanley kept an Equal Weight rating even after lifting its target, and Roth Capital flagged potential confusion around guidance following the divestiture of cellular modules, which removes at least US$40m of quarterly sales and associated earnings. Alongside the fair value change, the revenue growth assumption moved from 27.53% to 34.83%, the net profit margin assumption from 24.19% to 30.20%, the future P/E from 58.82x to 32.02x, and the discount rate from 11.27% to 11.40%.

Onsemi announced a new agreement to acquire Synaptics for $123 a share in cash, revising the all-stock deal disclosed in June after an unsolicited competing proposal. The revised transaction carries an aggregate value of approximately $5.7 billion, down from roughly $7 billion under the prior agreement, and is expected to be immediately accretive to onsemi's non-GAAP earnings per share. Synaptics shares jumped 13% in after-hours trading, while onsemi rose 5.2%. Synaptics CEO Rahul Patel said the move to an all-cash structure provides value certainty at a meaningful premium, and the Synaptics board unanimously determined the amended transaction remains in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. Onsemi CEO Hassane El-Khoury said the revised merger agreement represents a more financially attractive transaction for shareholders. The deal will be financed through cash on hand and committed financing, with fully committed debt financing obtained from Morgan Stanley, and it carries no closing condition tied to onsemi's financing; the transaction is still expected to close by mid-2027.

Talks among Rohm, Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric on integrating their power semiconductor businesses are struggling, and a certain agreement that had initially been targeted for around the summer is now delayed. The talks began in March, and for now the three aim to reach an agreement by their November interim earnings announcements, but if they clash over the form of the integration and other issues, it could slip to March next year. The three companies envision a business integration centered on a holding company structure, under which would sit a business entity into which their power semiconductor divisions would be transferred and another entity carved out of the analog semiconductor and sensor operations held by Rohm and Toshiba. However, the equity stakes in the new company remain unclear amid a struggle for leadership, and details such as the scope of the businesses to be separated have yet to be worked out. Responding to the surge in global semiconductor demand driven by the artificial intelligence boom, and the time needed to obtain antitrust approval from Chinese authorities, are also contributing to the delay in the talks. Japanese players are a notable presence in the global power semiconductor market, but with many companies crowding the field, each one's scale is small, and if the three companies' integration is realized, they would leap to become the world's second-largest power semiconductor maker.

Microchip Technology announced the expansion of its 10BASE-T1S portfolio with the introduction of the LAN8679 and LAN8680 10BASE-T1S PMD transceivers, alongside the LAN8660X/1X/2X family of endpoints with integrated transceivers. The LAN8679 transceiver provides a standardized Open Alliance 3-Pin interface in a compact 8-pin VDFN package, while the LAN8680 adds System Basis Chip features including power management, system wake/sleep control and watchdog supervision. The LAN8660X/1X/2X endpoint family integrates a PMD transceiver into a single-chip Remote Control Protocol solution, allowing compact edge nodes for control systems, lighting and audio without external PHY components. The devices are designed to meet AEC-Q100 and ISO 26262 functional safety standards and build on Microchip's VelocityDRIVE portfolio, targeting automotive zonal architecture, industrial automation, robotics and aerospace and defense. Using 10BASE-T1S multidrop topology, the solutions let multiple nodes, typically eight or more, share a single bus line, reducing wiring weight and system costs. The LAN8679, LAN8680 and LAN8660X/1X/2X are available in limited sampling.

VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Pte. Ltd., the joint venture formed in September 2024 by Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation and NXP Semiconductors N.V., has marked the grand opening of its first 12-inch, or 300mm, fab in Tampines, Singapore. Construction is complete and the fab has entered the risk production stage, with volume production scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027. The facility processed its first sample lot after 22 months of construction, achieving yields above 99%, and will support process technologies ranging from 130nm to 40nm for mixed-signal, power management, analog, and interposer applications across the high-performance computing, mobile, automotive, industrial, and consumer end markets. At full capacity by 2029, the fab is expected to produce approximately 44,000 12-inch wafers per month and create around 1,600 jobs. The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Tan See Leng, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry, along with representatives from TSMC, customers, suppliers, and government agencies.

Texas Instruments has raised its quarterly dividend by 7% to $1.52 per share from $1.42, lifting the annualized payout to $6.08 and extending its dividend growth streak to 23 consecutive years. The new dividend is scheduled to be paid on November 10, 2026, to shareholders of record as of October 30, subject to formal board approval. The increase is larger than the company's previous 4% raise and comes as cash generation has improved: for the 12 months through June 2026, TI generated $8.67 billion in operating cash flow and $6.53 billion in free cash flow, up from $1.76 billion of free cash flow a year earlier. Capital expenditures were $3.31 billion over the latest 12 months, down from $4.94 billion a year earlier, and TI expects 2026 capital spending of $2 billion to $3 billion. TI paid $5.11 billion in dividends over the latest 12 months against $6.53 billion of free cash flow, leaving a cushion, though the payout still consumes a significant share of that cash and the new $6.08 annualized payout translates to roughly a 2.3% yield at recent share prices.

Microchip Technology launched the PAC1761 and PAC1861 families of 65V digital power monitors, sending its shares up 4.3% in the afternoon session. The new chips are designed for 48V power applications, measuring accumulated energy use and providing transient headroom to withstand sudden voltage spikes, according to a company press release. Microchip said the products are meant to help engineers build smarter, more resilient high-voltage electronic systems, letting commercial customers better manage energy draw and protect sensitive equipment. The launch expands Microchip's power-management lineup and targets growing industrial demand for robust 48V architectures, which investors treated as a step toward capturing higher-margin power management market share. The shares were trading at $77.97, up 4.4% from the previous close, and are up 19.9% since the start of the year but still 24.2% below their 52-week high of $102.92.

Skyworks Solutions is set to be removed from the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index, affecting its role in that benchmark. The company reported new details on its planned merger with Qorvo, including an update on required regulatory and financing steps, and extended the related debt exchange offers supporting the Qorvo transaction beyond the original deadline. The deal is tied to a promised US$500m in cost savings and a higher long-term margin model. Skyworks develops analog and mixed-signal chips for wireless connectivity, competing with Broadcom and Qualcomm, and analysts have flagged concentrated mobile exposure as a risk. The index exit shifts attention further onto execution of the merger plan, with the full story pointing toward a $68.35 fair value for Skyworks Solutions.

Sanan Optoelectronics announced on the evening of September 24 that its actual controller, Lin Xiucheng, has been criminally detained by public security authorities on suspicion of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. The company had previously disclosed that Lin Xiucheng was placed under lien and investigation by supervisory authorities, and on September 24, 2026, it received notice from his family that he had been detained. Lin Xiucheng has not held any position at the company since July 10, 2017. The company stated that production, operations, and management remain normal, that this matter is unrelated to the company, and that it will not have a significant impact on production and operations. Sanan Optoelectronics was founded in November 2000 and is headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian Province. It is a globally renowned compound semiconductor research, manufacturing, and services enterprise. On September 24, Sanan Optoelectronics closed down 2.81 percent at 12.47 yuan per share, with a total market value of 62.2 billion yuan. Lin Xiucheng was born in 1956 in Anxi County, Quanzhou, Fujian Province. He controls Sanan Optoelectronics through Sanan Group, and the chairman is currently his eldest son, Lin Zhiqiang. The 2026 Hurun Global Rich List shows that Lin Xiucheng and his son ranked 2,044th with a fortune of 16 billion yuan, placing third among listed billionaires from Xiamen. In 2010, he was the richest person in Xiamen on the Forbes rich list.

Texas Instruments approved a 7% increase in its quarterly cash dividend to US$1.52 per share, or US$6.08 annualized, payable on November 10, 2026 to shareholders of record on October 30, 2026, marking 23 consecutive years of dividend raises. The hike underscores management's emphasis on returning all free cash flow to shareholders over time and reinforces the company's identity as a cash-generative analog and embedded semiconductor producer. The dividend news sits alongside the Q2 2026 earnings release, which showed revenue of US$5,463 million and net income of US$1,980 million, with guidance for up to US$6,150 million in Q3 revenue. The company's narrative projects $28.8 billion revenue and $11.3 billion earnings by 2029, yielding a $324.45 fair value, a 19% upside to its current price. Some analysts are more optimistic than consensus, assuming annual revenue toward about US$38,000 million and earnings of roughly US$15,300 million, while the key near-term catalyst remains how well TI fills its expanded fabs and the risk of underutilized capacity.

Valens Semiconductor announced a collaboration with onsemi to develop a cost-optimized integrated sensor for high-volume 3-megapixel automotive camera applications, based on the MIPI A-PHY standard. Under the agreement, Valens will work with onsemi on the cost-optimized A-PHY offering that can be integrated into onsemi's image sensors, giving OEMs and Tier 1s a faster path to A-PHY. Valens CEO Yoram Salinger called the move a major milestone for the company, for MIPI A-PHY and for the automotive ecosystem as a whole, noting the integrated 3MP offering complements Valens' existing solutions and brings A-PHY to a much broader range of use cases. Ahmed Salem, Vice President and General Manager of the Intelligent Sensing Group at onsemi, said customer interest makes clear that MIPI A-PHY represents a significant business opportunity and that the collaboration helps enable a more streamlined camera architecture that reduces component count. The majority of automotive image sensors target the 1-3MP range, and as OEMs migrate toward higher resolutions, a 3MP offering addresses both a large established market and a growing upgrade opportunity. MIPI A-PHY is the first standard in the automotive industry for high-speed sensor connectivity, and Valens says it offers the first chipsets on the market to comply with the standard and the first to achieve design wins with multiple OEMs.

STMicroelectronics introduced the ST SafeSense VD56GA, a compact 1.1 MP infrared automotive image sensor, in September 2026. The sensor is designed to support in-cabin driver and occupant monitoring with higher infrared sensitivity, embedded image processing, and a small CSP package for space-constrained vehicle interiors. The launch underscores STMicroelectronics' push to deepen its role in automotive imaging by combining vertically integrated manufacturing and infrared-optimized pixel technology to help OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers scale in-cabin sensing across more vehicle platforms at lower system cost. The company reported Q2 2026 revenues of US$3,487m and a Q3 midpoint of US$3.70b, and its narrative projects $20.3 billion in revenue and $3.8 billion in earnings by 2029, requiring 15.7% yearly revenue growth and about a $3.3 billion earnings increase from $466.0 million today. Some of the lowest estimating analysts were expecting revenue of about US$19.9b and earnings of roughly US$3.7b by 2029.

Guanxiang Technology announced on September 21 that it plans to purchase 60% of Liaojing Electronics by paying cash, with a transaction price of 482 million yuan. This transaction constitutes a major asset restructuring and a related-party transaction, but does not constitute a backdoor listing. Liaojing Electronics is a key supporting unit in the national defense technology sector, with years of deep cultivation in semiconductor discrete devices and integrated circuits. Its products are widely used in aerospace, aviation, ordnance, shipbuilding, electronics, nuclear physics, and multiple major national projects. Meanwhile, MLCC has seen another wave of price hikes. According to a CCTV Finance report on September 20, this round of price increases was first ignited by overseas leaders. Japan's Murata, Taiyo Yuden, and South Korea's Samsung Electro-Mechanics have successively issued price increase notices, with high-capacity MLCC original factory prices for AI servers generally rising by 15% to 35%. CITIC Securities pointed out that benefiting from strong AI demand, the MLCC industry is entering a new round of price increases and an upward cycle. It estimates that global server MLCC shipments will reach about 100 billion units in 2026, and may continue to expand to more than 400 billion units by 2030, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 40%. Since the second half of the year, margin traders have increased positions in multiple MLCC concept stocks. As of September 18, the net margin buying amounts of Sidike, Fenghua Advanced Technology, Shuangxing New Materials, and Yunzhong Technology all exceeded 50 million yuan, at 1.053 billion yuan, 410 million yuan, 176 million yuan, and 80.2973 million yuan respectively.

Fuxin Technology released after market close on September 22 its plan for a 2026 private placement of A-shares to specific investors, with total funds to be raised not exceeding 270 million yuan. This is the company's first refinancing since its listing on the STAR Market in April 2021. After deducting issuance expenses, the proceeds will be allocated to three projects. The miniature semiconductor thermoelectric cooling device production and construction project has a total investment of 202 million yuan, of which 150 million yuan will come from the raised funds. The technological transformation and informatization upgrade project has a total investment of 53.81 million yuan, of which 40 million yuan will come from the raised funds. Another 80 million yuan will be used to replenish working capital. The Micro TEC project will be implemented by the controlling subsidiary Guangdong Fuxin Thermoelectric Device Technology Company within its existing plant in Shunde District, Foshan City, with a construction period of three years. Once completed and at full production, it will add annual Micro TEC capacity of 42 million units. The company said that AI computing power development has driven explosive demand for high-speed optical modules, and Micro TEC, as the core temperature control component for optical modules, has seen surging demand. In the first half of 2026, Micro TEC sales revenue in the communications sector reached 56.16 million yuan, up 145.96 percent year on year. Products for 400G and 800G high-speed data communication optical modules are already in mass supply, 1.6T products are in small-batch supply, and products for co-packaged optics technology are in the sampling and verification stage. The issuance targets no more than 35 specific investors through competitive bidding, with the issue price not lower than 80 percent of the average stock trading price over the 20 trading days before the pricing base date. The number of shares issued will not exceed 30 percent of the total share capital before the issuance, and subscribed shares may not be transferred within six months from the end of the issuance.

Galaxy Microelectronics announced on September 21 that the company plans to invest 1.078 billion yuan of its own or self-raised funds in the High-End Core Device Industrialization and Innovation Capability Construction Project. The project is a continuation of the previously disclosed Phase One Plant Construction Project for the High-End Integrated Circuit Discrete Device Industrialization Base, mainly involving renovation, equipment purchase and installation, production line commissioning, and customer verification on the basis of the Phase One plant. The project is expected to start on January 1, 2027, with a construction period of three years. In the first half of 2026, Galaxy Microelectronics achieved revenue of 611 million yuan and net profit attributable to the parent company of 48.26 million yuan.

STMicroelectronics introduced the ST SafeSense VD56GA, a 1.1-megapixel infrared image sensor for in-cabin driver and passenger monitoring cameras, on September 14. The company says the sensor's stronger infrared imaging lets carmakers pair it with cheaper lenses, simpler infrared lighting and lighter filtering, and skip a separate image-processing chip, trimming cost across the whole camera module; sharpness is up 35% and infrared sensitivity up nearly 60% from the previous generation. An analyst at Yole Group expects driver and occupant monitoring volumes to top 70 million units by 2031, and STMicroelectronics said earlier this year it shipped its 10 millionth SafeSense automotive image sensor. The launch follows second-quarter revenue of $3.49 billion, up 26.0% from a year earlier, with third-quarter guidance of about $3.70 billion at the midpoint, though operating margin under U.S. GAAP was only 5.4% and the power and discrete segment lost $99 million at the operating level. The company has not named any automakers or suppliers committed to the chip, and management's case for faster fourth-quarter growth centers on AI datacenters and satellite communication programs rather than this sensor.