PE firms eye up NEC Electronics for acquisition

PRIVATE EQUITY firms seem to have developed a fierce appetite for semiconductor firms - especially those connected with mobile phones.

The hot news today is that NWQ has built up a 10.5 per cent stake in NEC Electronics (NECE), while another PVC, Capital Research, appears to have 2.97 per cent.

NEC Electronics had a market capitalisation of around $4.4 billion last week.

Freescale is being acquired by the Blackstone Group - which includes the Carlyle Group, Permira and Texas Pacific - for $17.6 billion while Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, Silver Lake Partners and AlpInvest Partners acquired an 80.1 per cent stake in Philips' Semiconductors .

The amount paid was undisclosed but Philips's Semiconductor diviison has since been renamed NXP Semiconductors.

Meanwhile the WSJ has set the rumour train rolling that Cypress Semiconductor, Atmel and ST Microelectronics are among the companies considered as potential targets by the PVCs. µ

L'INQ
Philips to sell semiconductor division to three PVCs * THE CARLYLE GROUP was one of six PE firms that acquired VNU earlier this year, which owns the INQ.