●哪些芯片公司透過并購(M&A)策略來取得軟件IP？
●芯片公司喜歡收購哪一類型的公司？
●收購一家公司能取得多大的價值？
●預期未來可能被看好的收購目標？
芯片制造商經常由于各種原因收購軟件公司。一般來說，主要是由于這些軟件公司提供了一種軟件開發(fā)工具、中介韌體，或者是能與特定處理器的軟件開發(fā)工具套件搭售的媒體編譯碼器。透過收購，有時還能使一家發(fā)展緩慢的半導體公司迅速取得一項技術，加入新市場競爭。大型且獲利豐厚的軟件公司還經常因為財務的目的而被 鎖定成為收購目標，特別是確定一經收購就能迅速獲利的軟件公司。
被收購的公司有時能夠深入地整合于買方公司的產品線。例如，Maxim Integrated Products公司在2010年收購Trinity Convergence，以及德州儀器公司(TI)在1999年買下Telogy Networks的例子。大規(guī)模的收購行動可能更具有策略意義，賣方可能會讓收購來的公司以一個獨立的營運部門持續(xù)運作。最有明的例子就是英特爾公司 (Intel Corp.)在2010年以80億美元收購McAfee公司，以及2010以9億美元收購Wind River公司；Cavium Networks以5,400萬美元收購MontaVista公司。此外，軟件公司被收購的的原因大多也由于具有技術專利組合。如英特爾公司在今年以 1.2億美元收購RealNetworks，取得其專利組合與編譯碼器技術。
接下來，我們透過四個與并購有關的問題，更深入地剖析這些收購活動及其意義：
一、哪些芯片廠商喜歡收購軟件公司？
很明顯地，許多芯片公司都很貪得無厭。例如，過去五年來，英特爾已經收購了48家公司，博通公司(Broadcom)收購了16家公司。根據Capital IQ的統計，在過去兩年來，已有38家軟件公司被并購。其中，最積極收購軟件公司的芯片公司就是英特爾、ARM、Imagination Technologies以及AuthenTec；英特爾在過去兩年來共進行了8次收購交易，AuthenTec 則有兩項交易。
二、收購一家公司能取得什幺價值？
除去一些外在因素后，我們觀察過去兩年來的所有收購交易后整理出以下一些指針：
·平均交易規(guī)模：4,900萬美元
·平均企業(yè)價值/收益加乘：5.2倍
·平均企業(yè)價值/EBITDA加乘：20倍
雖然每一家公司的實際價值可能有所不同，但這些平均指針也為我們提供了一些有用的參考資料。
三、哪些熱門技術容易被收購？
過去兩年來，我們看到在用戶接口(UI)與多媒體技術方面的收購交易數量明顯增加，接著是安全性。顯然，目前的兩項重要趨勢就是吸引人的用戶接口以及多媒體──這正是足以帶動各種消費電子產品銷售所需必備 的關鍵，而安全性則在行動連接領域中也變得越來越受重視。UI與多媒體領域的收購范圍包括從3D繪圖與行動用戶接口到視頻、VoIP與影像處理套件等；而 有關安全軟件方面的收購交易則包括英特爾以80億美元收購企業(yè)軟件廠商McAfee，以及一些像PeerSec Networks等較小規(guī)模的收購交易。
四、預期未來可能出現的收購交易？
我的工作職責有一部分就是密切關注芯片公司高層主管在考慮收購時所感興趣的趨勢。我發(fā)現他們一般都關注于幾個共同的議題。芯片公司積極尋找的通常是一款可擴展的軟件解決方案，這使其能夠很容易地整合于公司的現有產品線，并有助于利用更廣泛的銷售團隊。安全性的議題也越來越重要，特別是在移動電子產品方面。
此外，由于用戶要求更具圖形化的美感與直觀體驗，“iPhone效應”將會持續(xù)影響電子產業(yè)。同時，這一趨勢還將針對手機、STB、汽車以及其它各種消費電子設備，帶來更多采用UI架構、3D成像與視頻最佳化的要求。
以下我們整理出在過去兩年來一些具有代表性的收購交易及相關技術領域。
Source：McLean Group
Why Chipmakers Are Buying Software Firms
Brent Lorenz, VP, McLean Group
The owners of embedded software companies have long considered an acquisition by a semiconductor partner a logical exit strategy. We took a look at semiconductor acquisitions over the past two years with the aim of better understanding the dynamics of the market, and we came up with four critical questions:
· Which chip companies are using M&A to acquire software IP?
· What kinds of companies have they acquired?
· What kinds of valuations are being paid?
· What kinds of acquisitions do we expect to see in the future?
Chipmakers have routinely bought software firms for a variety of reasons. Frequently, the target offers a software development tool, middleware, or media codec that can be bundled with a particular processor's software development kit. Acquisitions also enable a slower-moving semiconductor company to compete in a new market quickly by obtaining technology. Large and highly profitable software companies are also frequently targeted for financial purposes, especially if a purchase would be accretive to earnings.
Sometimes the acquired company is deeply integrated into the buyer's product line. That was the case when Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (Nasdaq: MXIM) acquired Trinity Convergence in 2010 and when Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) bought Telogy Networks back in 1999. Large acquisitions may be more strategic in nature, and the seller may continue to operate as a separate operating division. Notable examples include the 2010 acquisition of McAfee for $8 billion and the 2009 purchase of Wind River for $900 million by Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), as well as the 2009 purchase of MontaVista for $54 million by Cavium Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: CAVM). A software company may also be acquired mostly for its patent portfolio. A good example is Intel's purchase this year of patents and codecs from RealNetworks for $120 million. Here's a deeper dissection of the activities involved.
1. Which chip companies are buying software companies? Clearly, many chip companies are very acquisitive. Over the past five years, for example, Intel has acquired 48 companies, and Broadcom has acquired 16. According to Capital IQ, there have been 38 software acquisitions over the past two years. The most active chip buyers of software companies were Intel (with eight deals) and ARM, Imagination Technologies, and AuthenTec (with two each).
2. What valuations are being paid? After removing some of the outliers, we arrived at a few metrics for deals made over the past two years.
o Average deal size: $49 million
o Average enterprise value/revenue multiple: 5.2 times
o Average enterprise value/EBITDA multiple: 20 times
The valuation of your company may vary substantially from these metrics, but they offer some data points. If you want a more specific idea of what your company may be worth, contact a licensed M&A adviser, such as the McLean Group.
3. What kinds of technologies are being acquired? Over the past two years, we saw a significant number of deals in user interface (UI) and multimedia, followed by security. Clearly, there have been two key trends: Compelling user interfaces and multimedia are needed to drive sales of consumer electronics of all kinds, and security is becoming more and more of a concern in the mobile connected world. UI and multimedia deals ranged from 3D graphics and mobile user interfaces to video, VoIP, and image processing suites. Security software deals included Intel's $8 billion deal for the enterprise security software company McAfee and smaller deals for firms like PeerSec Networks.
4. What do we expect to see in the future? Part of my job is to stay current with the interests of chip company executives as they consider acquisitions. There are a few common themes. Chip companies are looking for scalable software solutions that can be easily integrated into a product line and can leverage the broader sales team. Security is increasingly important, especially for mobile electronics.
Finally, the "iPhone effect" continues to impact electronics as users demand experiences that are graphically pleasing and intuitive. This continues to create demand for UI frameworks, 3D imaging, and video optimization in devices ranging from mobile phones to STB, TV, automotive, and other consumer devices.
The following is a representative sample of the transactions in the last two years.
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