Great products aren't enough to save a troubled business. Atmel
Microchip Technology
But like I said, the company sits on a solid technology portfolio and both of its prospective buyers plan to turn a profit from their new assets in the first year. ON wants Atmel's memory products to complement the pending acquisition of Catalyst Semiconductor
You'd think that Atmel's shareholders would jump at this chance to grab an immediate 25% premium over Friday night's closing price, but the shares haven't moved anywhere near the $5 mark today. That's usually a sign of pessimistic shareholders, because someone out there is willing to sell their shares for less than the promised buyout price. The current credit crisis isn't enough to push Atmel into a deal either, because the company has a solid balance sheet with over $375 million in cash equivalents and total debt of only around $150 million.
Atmel CEO Steven Laub promises to do "what is right for our shareholders, customers, partners and employees," and claims "significant progress" in his two years of turnaround efforts. Well, Atmel, with its 19% drop, has performed worse than the S&P 500 since Laub took Atmel's helm, so it is not clear to me that investors agree with him.
Hostile takeovers are a tricky business -- just ask Microsoft
Further Foolishness: