Maxim adds Phyworks to shopping cart for $72.5 mn

SAN JOSE, USA: The analog chip maker Maxim Integrated Products Inc. has acquired Phyworks Ltd. for approximately $72.5 million in cash. This acquisition expands the company’s portfolio in the optical networking front, said an EETimes report.

Founded in 2001, Phyworks is a fabless company, whose transceivers and transimpedance amplifiers span the entire spectrum of data rates, from 1- through to 10-Gbps.

Sources at Maxim say that this combination of Phyworks’ product portfolio and talent to the Maxim team strengthens their market position considerably. The field of optical networks is seeing massive growth exponentially, with the networks reaching customers directly through fiber into customers’ homes.

Maxim has been on a buying spree in recent years entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Mobilygen Inc., a developer of H.264 video compression chips in 2008.

In January 2009 the company acquired Innova Card, a fabless semiconductor company specializing in the design and development of secure solutions for terminals. In the same year, Maxim acquired Zilog Inc.'s secure transaction product line, which features the Zatara 32-bit, ARM-based microcontroller family for use in payment terminals.

Recently Maxim entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Teridian Semiconductor Corp. for approximately $315 million in cash. With this acquisition Maxim has a position in the smart meter chip market as well.

The company has recently reported record sales of $566 million for the quarter ended June 26, a rise of 11 percent compared with the previous quarter and up 43 percent compared with the year-ago quarter.