Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics acquired nine companies in eight years
What is the strategy behind these acquisitions?
✍ Do you know Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics acquired nine companies in eight years? Yes! It did.
Thanks to its CEO Hidetoshi Shibata, an ex-banker at Merrill Lynch who loves mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Let’s look at Renesas Electronics acquisitions led by Shibata-san, initially as a CFO and now as a CEO.
A little Background
Looking back at its history, Renesas Electronics was established in April 2010 through the integration of two major entities:
NEC Electronics: Originally founded in November 2002 as a spin-off of NEC’s semiconductor operations (excluding the DRAM business).
Renesas Technology: Formed on April 1, 2003, as a non-DRAM chip joint venture between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Corporation, with ownership percentages of 55% and 45%, respectively.
Special Note: Renesas Electronics in 2009 was the world’s No. 3 chipmaker in sales after Intel and Samsung Electronics.
Acquisition Spree Begins:
Since joining the company as chief financial officer (CFO) in 2013, Shibata-san has orchestrated a string of acquisitions. The acquisition spree started in 2017.
In February 2017, Renesas completed the acquisition of Intersil Corporation(1) for $3.2 Billion. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
By combining Renesas’ market-proven microcontroller (MCU) and system-on-chip (SoC) products and technologies and Intersil’s leading power management and precision analog capability, Renesas will be well positioned to address some of the most exciting opportunities in key areas such as automotive, industrial, cloud computing, healthcare, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
In March 2019, the acquisition of IDT - Integrated Device Technology(2) for $6.7 billion was completed. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
Together with IDT, Renesas will now deliver an even broader range of leading-edge technology and embedded solutions by combining IDT’s RF, high-performance timing, memory interface, real-time interconnect, optical interconnect, wireless power and smart sensors with Renesas microcontrollers, system-on-chips, and power management ICs.
In September 2021, the acquisition of Dialog Semiconductor(3) for $5.9 Billion was completed. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
Renesas will expand its market presence with an even broader range of product portfolio by combining Dialog’s low-power mixed-signal products, low-power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® connectivity expertise, flash memory, battery and power management as well as its long-standing experience and in-depth knowledge in providing configurable mixed-signal (CMIC) solutions and more.
In December 2021, Renesas completed the acquisition of Celeno Communications(4) for US$315 million. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
With the addition of Celeno’s industry leading Wi-Fi technologies and software expertise, Renesas will significantly enhance its connectivity portfolio.
In July 2022, Renesas completed the acquisition of Reality Analytics, Inc(5). And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
Combining Reality AI’s best-in-class AI inference technologies with Renesas’ extensive MCU and MPU product portfolios will enable seamless implementation of machine learning and signal processing.
In October 2022, Renesas completed the acquisition of Steradian Semiconductors Private Limited(6), a fabless Indian semiconductor company. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
Renesas plans to capitalize on the high growth opportunities the automotive radar market offers, by expanding its automotive product portfolio with Steradian’s radar technology and extending its reach in the radar market.
In June 2023, Renesas completed the acquisition of Panthronics AG(7), an Austrian fabless semiconductor company specializing in high-performance wireless products. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
The acquisition provides Renesas with the in-house capability to instantly capture growing market opportunities for NFC. With Panthronics’ NFC expertise and skilled engineering talent, Renesas will be able to offer customers a compelling breadth of connectivity solutions in growing areas spanning fintech, IoT, and automotive spheres.
In January 2024, Renesas agreed to acquire gallium nitride chip maker Transphorm Inc.(8) for $339 million. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
The acquisition will provide Renesas with in-house GaN technology, a key next-generation material for power semiconductors, expanding its reach into fast-growing markets such as EVs, computing (data centers, AI, infrastructure), renewable energy, industrial power conversion and fast chargers/adapters.
In August 2024, Renesas completed the acquisition of Australia’s PCB designer Altium(9) for $5.9 Billion. And, what is the strategy behind this acquisition?
“With the addition of Altium’s design software and cloud platform capabilities, we are excited to change the future of electronics system design with Aram (Altium’s CEO) and his industry-leading, talented software engineering team” said CEO Shibata-san.
So, what's CEO Shibata-san's strategy behind all these acquisitions?
Simple Answer! To achieve Renesas 2030 aspirations.
What are Renesas 2030 aspirations?
- To be a top 3 embedded semi solution supplier
- Revenue of $20 Billion+
- 6x market cap versus 2022
Signing off