Cypress Semiconductor drops bid for chipmaker Atmel
(Reuters) - Cypress Semiconductor Corp has withdrawn its offer for Atmel Corp, the second failed attempt by the company to acquire a chipmaker this year.
Cypress submitted a bid to Atmel's board, but dropped it after the offer expired, Cypress said on Monday.
Atmel, which makes small processors called microcontrollers used in a wide array of electronics, agreed this month to be bought by Dialog Semiconductor Plc for about $4.6 billion.
Atmel's shares were down at $8 in afternoon trading on Monday, giving up gains after Cypress's announcement. Cypress shares were down 3.6 percent at $8.45.
Reuters, citing sources, reported on Sunday that Cypress had informed Atmel it believed its offer was superior to Dialog's cash-and-stock deal. Cypress shares dropped as much as 5.8 percent on Monday on the news.
Spokespersons for Atmel and Cypress declined to comment.
Dialog, which is listed in London, has seen its shares drop about 20 percent since the deal with Atmel was announced, as investors grew skeptical of the potential combination.
Cypress attempted to buy chipmaker Integrated Silicon Solution Inc, but lost out to Uphill Investment Co, which clinched a deal in June for more than $700 million.
(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Kirti Pandey, Bernard Orr)
