●哪些芯片公司透过并购(M&A)策略来取得软件IP？
●芯片公司喜欢收购哪一类型的公司？
●收购一家公司能取得多大的价值？
●预期未来可能被看好的收购目标？
芯片制造商经常由于各种原因收购软件公司。一般来说，主要是由于这些软件公司提供了一种软件开发工具、中介韧体，或者是能与特定处理器的软件开发工具套件搭售的媒体编译码器。透过收购，有时还能使一家发展缓慢的半导体公司迅速取得一项技术，加入新市场竞争。大型且获利丰厚的软件公司还经常因为财务的目的而被 锁定成为收购目标，特别是确定一经收购就能迅速获利的软件公司。
被收购的公司有时能够深入地整合于买方公司的产品线。例如，Maxim Integrated Products公司在2010年收购Trinity Convergence，以及德州仪器公司(TI)在1999年买下Telogy Networks的例子。大规模的收购行动可能更具有策略意义，卖方可能会让收购来的公司以一个独立的营运部门持续运作。最有明的例子就是英特尔公司 (Intel Corp.)在2010年以80亿美元收购McAfee公司，以及2010以9亿美元收购Wind River公司；Cavium Networks以5,400万美元收购MontaVista公司。此外，软件公司被收购的的原因大多也由于具有技术专利组合。如英特尔公司在今年以 1.2亿美元收购RealNetworks，取得其专利组合与编译码器技术。
接下来，我们透过四个与并购有关的问题，更深入地剖析这些收购活动及其意义：
一、哪些芯片厂商喜欢收购软件公司？
很明显地，许多芯片公司都很贪得无厌。例如，过去五年来，英特尔已经收购了48家公司，博通公司(Broadcom)收购了16家公司。根据Capital IQ的统计，在过去两年来，已有38家软件公司被并购。其中，最积极收购软件公司的芯片公司就是英特尔、ARM、Imagination Technologies以及AuthenTec；英特尔在过去两年来共进行了8次收购交易，AuthenTec 则有两项交易。
二、收购一家公司能取得什幺价值？
除去一些外在因素后，我们观察过去两年来的所有收购交易后整理出以下一些指针：
·平均交易规模：4,900万美元
·平均企业价值/收益加乘：5.2倍
·平均企业价值/EBITDA加乘：20倍
虽然每一家公司的实际价值可能有所不同，但这些平均指针也为我们提供了一些有用的参考资料。
三、哪些热门技术容易被收购？
过去两年来，我们看到在用户接口(UI)与多媒体技术方面的收购交易数量明显增加，接着是安全性。显然，目前的两项重要趋势就是吸引人的用户接口以及多媒体──这正是足以带动各种消费电子产品销售所需必备 的关键，而安全性则在行动连接领域中也变得越来越受重视。UI与多媒体领域的收购范围包括从3D绘图与行动用户接口到视频、VoIP与影像处理套件等；而 有关安全软件方面的收购交易则包括英特尔以80亿美元收购企业软件厂商McAfee，以及一些像PeerSec Networks等较小规模的收购交易。
四、预期未来可能出现的收购交易？
我的工作职责有一部分就是密切关注芯片公司高层主管在考虑收购时所感兴趣的趋势。我发现他们一般都关注于几个共同的议题。芯片公司积极寻找的通常是一款可扩展的软件解决方案，这使其能够很容易地整合于公司的现有产品线，并有助于利用更广泛的销售团队。安全性的议题也越来越重要，特别是在移动电子产品方面。
此外，由于用户要求更具图形化的美感与直观体验，“iPhone效应”将会持续影响电子产业。同时，这一趋势还将针对手机、STB、汽车以及其它各种消费电子设备，带来更多采用UI架构、3D成像与视频最佳化的要求。
以下我们整理出在过去两年来一些具有代表性的收购交易及相关技术领域。
Source：McLean Group
Why Chipmakers Are Buying Software Firms
Brent Lorenz, VP, McLean Group
The owners of embedded software companies have long considered an acquisition by a semiconductor partner a logical exit strategy. We took a look at semiconductor acquisitions over the past two years with the aim of better understanding the dynamics of the market, and we came up with four critical questions:
· Which chip companies are using M&A to acquire software IP?
· What kinds of companies have they acquired?
· What kinds of valuations are being paid?
· What kinds of acquisitions do we expect to see in the future?
Chipmakers have routinely bought software firms for a variety of reasons. Frequently, the target offers a software development tool, middleware, or media codec that can be bundled with a particular processor's software development kit. Acquisitions also enable a slower-moving semiconductor company to compete in a new market quickly by obtaining technology. Large and highly profitable software companies are also frequently targeted for financial purposes, especially if a purchase would be accretive to earnings.
Sometimes the acquired company is deeply integrated into the buyer's product line. That was the case when Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (Nasdaq: MXIM) acquired Trinity Convergence in 2010 and when Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) bought Telogy Networks back in 1999. Large acquisitions may be more strategic in nature, and the seller may continue to operate as a separate operating division. Notable examples include the 2010 acquisition of McAfee for $8 billion and the 2009 purchase of Wind River for $900 million by Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), as well as the 2009 purchase of MontaVista for $54 million by Cavium Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: CAVM). A software company may also be acquired mostly for its patent portfolio. A good example is Intel's purchase this year of patents and codecs from RealNetworks for $120 million. Here's a deeper dissection of the activities involved.
1. Which chip companies are buying software companies? Clearly, many chip companies are very acquisitive. Over the past five years, for example, Intel has acquired 48 companies, and Broadcom has acquired 16. According to Capital IQ, there have been 38 software acquisitions over the past two years. The most active chip buyers of software companies were Intel (with eight deals) and ARM, Imagination Technologies, and AuthenTec (with two each).
2. What valuations are being paid? After removing some of the outliers, we arrived at a few metrics for deals made over the past two years.
o Average deal size: $49 million
o Average enterprise value/revenue multiple: 5.2 times
o Average enterprise value/EBITDA multiple: 20 times
The valuation of your company may vary substantially from these metrics, but they offer some data points. If you want a more specific idea of what your company may be worth, contact a licensed M&A adviser, such as the McLean Group.
3. What kinds of technologies are being acquired? Over the past two years, we saw a significant number of deals in user interface (UI) and multimedia, followed by security. Clearly, there have been two key trends: Compelling user interfaces and multimedia are needed to drive sales of consumer electronics of all kinds, and security is becoming more and more of a concern in the mobile connected world. UI and multimedia deals ranged from 3D graphics and mobile user interfaces to video, VoIP, and image processing suites. Security software deals included Intel's $8 billion deal for the enterprise security software company McAfee and smaller deals for firms like PeerSec Networks.
4. What do we expect to see in the future? Part of my job is to stay current with the interests of chip company executives as they consider acquisitions. There are a few common themes. Chip companies are looking for scalable software solutions that can be easily integrated into a product line and can leverage the broader sales team. Security is increasingly important, especially for mobile electronics.
Finally, the "iPhone effect" continues to impact electronics as users demand experiences that are graphically pleasing and intuitive. This continues to create demand for UI frameworks, 3D imaging, and video optimization in devices ranging from mobile phones to STB, TV, automotive, and other consumer devices.
The following is a representative sample of the transactions in the last two years.