STMicroelectronics announced Thursday it acquired SOMOS Semiconductor, a fabless semiconductor company that specialized in silicon power amplifiers and radio frequency front-end modules.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
STMicroelectronics, based in Geneva, finished 2019 as the eighth largest semiconductor company globally in 2019, earning $9.5 billion in revenues and finishing behind Texas Instruments. It has 46,000 employees and makes a wide variety of electronics devices.
SOMOS, based in Marly-le-Roy, France, was founded in 2018. Its power amplifiers and RF front end modules (FEM) are designed for cellular Internet of Things products and 5G.
STMicroelectronics expects to use the capabilities of SOMOS and announced a first product. The NB-IoT/CAT-M1 module will be the first on a roadmap of new RF FEM products.
Claude Dardanne, president of microcontrollers at STMicroelectronics, said the acquisition reinforces the company’s plans to play a major role in RF FEM for IoT. The company recently acquired BeSpoon for its UltraWideBand technology and Riot Micro for NB-IoT modems. “ST now offers it customers complete connectivity solutions,” he said in a statement.
STMicroelectronics shares have undergone a gradual improvement on the New York Exchange since a big decline in mid-March, along with many other stocks that were hit by COVID-19. Shares reached $31.77 on Feb. 13, then fell to $15.86 on March 18 and have since improved to $34.57 at market close on Wednesday. Shares were down 1.5% in mid-day trading on Thursday. A third quarter earnings report will be released on Oct. 22.
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