Infineon to acquire Wolfspeed for $850 million in cash

The purchase price for this planned all-cash transaction is USD 850 million (EUR 740 million). This acquisition will enable Infineon to provide a broader offering in compound semiconductors and will further strengthen Infineon as a supplier of power and RF power solutions in high-growth markets such as electro-mobility, renewables and next-generation cellular infrastructure relevant for IoT. Dr. Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG, said: “Joining forces with Wolfspeed represents a unique growth opportunity. Wolfspeed’s and Infineon’s businesses and expertise are highly complementary, bringing together industry leading experts for compound semiconductors. This will enable us to create additional value for our customers with the broadest and deepest portfolio of innovative technologies and products in compound semiconductors available in the market. With Wolfspeed we will become number one in SiC-based power semiconductors. We also want to become number one in RF power. This will accelerate the market introduction of these innovative technologies, addressing the needs of modern society – such as energy efficiency, connectivity and mobility.” Chuck Swoboda, Cree Chairman and CEO, said: “After much consideration and due diligence over the past year, we concluded that selling Wolfspeed to Infineon was the best decision for our shareholders, employees and customers. We believe that Wolfspeed will now be able to more aggressively commercialize its unique silicon carbide and gallium nitride technology as part of Infineon.” Frank Plastina, Wolfspeed CEO, said: “By joining the Infineon team, Wolfspeed will now have all the advantages of a global company in our sector, including the ability to leverage Infineon’s market reach and infrastructure. With Infineon’s complementary culture and additional investment, we’ll be better positioned to unlock the potential of our portfolio and our people.” Wolfspeed is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA, and has been a part of Cree for almost three decades. The unit is a provider of SiC-based power and GaN-on-SiC-based RF power solutions. This also includes the related core competencies in wafer substrate manufacturing for SiC, as well as for SiC with a monocrystalline GaN layer for RF power applications. With these competencies, The closing of the transaction is expected by the end of calendar year 2016.