April 23, 2012 — Investments in fabless companies, semiconductor suppliers, and other semiconductor companies fell more than 80% month-to-month (M/M) and year-to-year (Y/Y) in March, reports the Global Semiconductor Association (GSA) in its Global Semiconductor Funding, IPO and M&A Update.
Semiconductor companies (fabless companies, integrated device manufacturers [IDMs], and semiconductor suppliers) saw $28.9 million in venture capital investments; a 81.9% decrease from February 2011 and a 84.9% drop from March 2011.
8 semiconductor companies received funding in March; a 42.9% decrease M/M and a 14.3% increase Y/Y. Of these, 6 were fabless and 2 were chip suppliers.
A single semiconductor company, Merus Audio of Denmark, received first-round investment dollars in March. M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings held its initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (ticker: MTSI). LED company Novaled AG filed with the SEC to raise up to $200 million in its IPO.
In March, semiconductor mergers and acquisitions (M&As) increased (6 more over February) and held steady Y/Y. These include entire fabless, IDM and semiconductor supplier companies, not sectors/product lines or foundry facilities. The largest was Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD’s) acquisition of SeaMicro for $334.0 million.
Access the report at http://www.gsaglobal.org/publications/fundings/index.asp. The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) aims to accelerate growth and increase the return on invested capital of the global semiconductor industry by fostering a more effective ecosystem through collaboration, integration and innovation. It addresses the challenges within the supply chain including IP, EDA/design, wafer manufacturing, test and packaging to enable industry-wide solutions.