Skyworks and Qorvo to Combine to Create $22 Billion U.S
Greensboro-based Qorvo will merge with the larger Irvine, California-based Skyworks Solutions in a cash-and-stock deal that values the combined company at $22 billion. The two companies provide radio-frequency chips to Apple and other smartphone manufacturers.
The move follows last year’s announcement by Qorvo that it was considering selling parts of its business.
Qorvo shareholders will receive $32.50 in cash and 0.960 of a Skyworks common share for each Qorvo share, pending the deal’s approval by regulators and shareholders. A closing is expecrted early next year.
Upon closing, Skyworks shareholders will own about 63% of the combined company, while Qorvo shareholders will own 37%, on a fully-diluted basis.
The total offer price of $105.31 represents a 14.3% premium to Qorvo’s Monday close, valuing the company at $9.76 billion, according to Reuters.
Skyworks CEO Phil Brace will serve as CEO of the combined company; Qorvo CEO Bob Bruggeworth will join the board of directors of the combined company. The combined company’s board of directors will comprise 11 directors, eight from Skyworks and three from Qorvo.
In 1991, Bill Pratt, Powell Seymour and Jerry Neal founded RFMD in Greensboro, setting the path for one of the state’s most successful technology companies. It went public in 1997, and has long produced valuable products for the largest mobile phone operators.
Bruggeworth joined the business in 1999 and became CEO in 2003. He led the company through its 2014 merger with Oregon-based TriQuint Semiconductor to form Qorvo. Annual revenue slid from $4.5 billion in 2021 to $3.7 billion last year. Profit was $$55 million in the fiscal year ending March 31, versus a loss of $70 million in the previous year.
The company’s shares peaked at nearly $200 in mid-2021, but have struggled since then. Qorvo stock has declined 18% over the past five years, after taking into account today’s 11% gain in late morning trading. Shares have traded between $49 and $106 in the past year.
Skyworks shares were up about 13% this morning to about $85.50. Its shares have lost nearly 40% of their value over the past five years.