On Semi Buys Sound Design

On Semiconductor Corp. has made another acquisition. In an effort to expand into medical chips, On Semi has acquired privately-held Sound Design Technologies Ltd. (SDT) from an affiliate of Global Equity Capital LLC, for approximately $22 million in cash. Under the terms, the seller will also have the ability to receive additional earn-out proceeds of up to $10 million if, among other things, SDT is able to meet certain revenue thresholds in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The initial consideration value represents approximately one times SDT’s first quarter 2010 annualized sales levels. SDT will now become an integrated part of On Semiconductor’s Medical Division, based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. SDT is a designer and manufacturer of ultra-low-power semiconductor solutions for hearing aids and portable, battery-powered DSP applications. The hearing instrument products and manufacturing operations of Gennum Corp. were acquired in 2007 to form SDT. It is based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada Last year, SDT launched the Wolverine series of DSP solutions, consisting of programmable DSP platforms as integrated circuits or packaged hybrids and preconfigured hearing aid solutions. The device is a full system-on-chip (SoC) programmable multi-processor DSP platform with a reconfigurable architecture. It integrates high-resolution dual ADCs, DAC and 20-bit data path. Applications include hearing aid processors, portable audio entertainment devices, noise cancellation headphones, medical monitoring, enterprise headsets, and others. “The acquisition of Sound Design Technologies solidifies our position as a leading supplier of ultra-low-power digital signal processing (DSP) technology for hearing aids and audio processing applications,” said Robert Tong, vice president of On Semiconductor’s Medical Division, in a statement. Following its spin-off from Motorola Inc., On Semi several years ago acquired Cherry Semiconductor Corp. for $253.2 million. Then, starting in 2006, On Semi accelerated its efforts to reshape the company from a commodity discrete supplier into a higher-value analog/mixed-signal vendor. Several years ago, it raised eyebrows by buying LSI Corp.'s 8-inch fab in Gresham, Oregon for $106.5 million. In 2007, On Semi acquired AMI Semiconductor for $894.1 million. The move enabled On Semi to enter the ASIC, custom chip, foundry and other markets. At the time, On Semi also purchased Analog Devices Inc.'s voltage regulation and thermal monitoring products for $148 million Then, in 2008, On Semi purchased Catalyst Semiconductor Inc., a supplier of EEPROMs and related nonvolatile memories, for $121.7 million. Continuing on its buying spree, On Semi recently completed the acquisition of EMI chip specialist PulseCore Holdings (Cayman) Inc. for $17 million. Late last year, On Semiconductor acquired California Micro Devices for $108 million in cash under the terms of a definitive agreement signed by the two companies. On Semi's joint IC-assembly and test venture in China recently outlined its roadmap and expansion plans amid growing but choppy demand for the U.S. chip maker. And recently, On Semi said it will spend $11 million to add new semiconductor production equipment to its 8-inch fab in Pocatello, Idaho. The company plans to hire about 35 additional workers for the facility by the end of the year.