Marvell resets closing date for Inphi acquisition after Chinese regulatory approval
Just to prove it’s can be done, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) says it has received timely approval of its planned purchase of Inphi from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) of the People's Republic of China. The company now says it plans to close the deal next month, pending approval by the stockholders of the two companies, as well as satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Marvell announced last October that it had reached agreement to buy Inphi for approximately $10 billion ( see “Marvell to buy Inphi”). The two companies primarily make communications silicon, although Inphi has branched out into optical transceivers with its COLORZ portfolio. Marvell sees the addition of Inphi as expanding its footprint into cloud and data center networking as well as deepening its current hand in 5G.
The company originally estimated that the deal would close in the second half of this year. But apparently Marvell had expected the SAMR approval process to take longer than it proved to. SAMR approval had held up two recent optical communications deals, II-VI’s buy of Finisar and Cisco’s purchase of Acacia Communications (see, for example, “II-VI to refile Finisar purchase approval request with Chinese authority” and “Cisco, Acacia Communications optimistic about merger approval from China”). In the latter case, the delay almost caused the deal to founder (see “Acacia Communications says Cisco merger is off; Cisco disagrees” and “Cisco, Acacia Communications renegotiate merger at higher price”).
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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