Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Microchip Technology Inc. and ON Semiconductor Corp., makers of chips that run electronics and household appliances, made an unsolicited offer to buy Atmel Corp. for $2.3 billion and split the assets.
The companies would pay $5 a share, 52 percent more than Atmel's closing price yesterday. Microchip and ON made the proposal public by releasing a letter to the board in a statement today, saying Atmel directors refused to negotiate. Atmel surged 34 percent today in Nasdaq trading.
Atmel had lost more than a third of its value in the past year before today, and plans for a turnaround haven't produced results, Microchip and ON said. The ``rapidly deteriorating'' economy will make those efforts even more difficult, they said. Microchip would acquire most of Atmel's businesses, with ON buying the memory and automotive units, the companies said.