Diversification isn't always a great idea -- you've heard about business-crippling "diworsification," right?
On that note, chip designer LSI
LSI's storage segment has a history of making an operating profit even in lean times, but the division always looked like an odd duck alongside a product portfolio full of silicon chips. As a pure semiconductor designer in the storage and networking markets, LSI hopes to "accelerate the achievement of our current business model, establish a richer business model target, and deliver greater long-term shareholder value."
The $480 million payment from NetApp should certainly help LSI accomplish those goals. The company now looks more like chief rivals Marvell Technology Group
On NetApp's side of the table, LSI's storage unit collected about $700 million in 2010 revenue, some of it in markets that NetApp doesn't serve today. The unit is already profitable and should add to NetApp's bottom line in short order. It's a quick path toward catching up with industry giants IBM and EMC
But investors seem to fear that NetApp overpaid for LSI's assets, as LSI stock jumped on the news while NetApp tanked. This is the largest buyout NetApp has ever done, yet it pales in comparison to Western Digital's
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