As of November 2020, there have been 5 mergers and acquisitions involving strong alliances in the foreign semiconductor market, each with an average transaction value of more than US$20 billion. Industry insiders believe that through this round of mergers and acquisitions, foreign semiconductors have entered the era of oligarchy.
The last large-scale M&A wave in the semiconductor industry dates back to 2015. In that year, the global semiconductor market grew slowly, and semiconductor demand was affected by various aspects, thereby reducing. However, at the same time, there has also been a wave of mergers and acquisitions. According to reports, over 30 mergers and acquisitions of more than US$1 billion reached a transaction value of US$107.7 billion that year.
In the following years, although mergers and acquisitions occurred occasionally, both the transaction amount and the impact on the industry were less than in 2015. Until July 2020, the semiconductor industry started a crazy acquisition model. SK Hynix acquired Intel's NAND business, ADI acquired Maxim, Nvidia acquired ARM, AMD acquired Xilinx, and Marvell sought a deal with Inphi. In less than 5 months, the total value of these 5 mergers and acquisitions in the semiconductor industry was at least US$115 billion. Both the single amount and the total amount created a new record in the history of mergers and acquisitions in the semiconductor industry.
The semiconductor industry is affected by the special circumstances this year, and the integration of the semiconductor industry is an effective way to reduce costs. Second, a large amount of funds flowed into the stock market, resulting in high prices in the secondary market. At this time, it is a wise choice for companies to convert high stock prices into high-quality assets.