FBR Capital’s Craig Berger this morning offers a generally positive view on multiple semiconductor names, writing that his checks of the electronics supply chain suggest, we remain constructive on the group for post-Labor Day goodness as business remains generally robust, inventories are lean, and valuations reasonable (13x 2011 P/E for the sector). ”

In particular, Berger reiterated Outperform ratings on Broadcom (BRCM), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL), and Qualcomm (QCOM), but a Market Perform rating on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA).

Marvell trades at just 9 times projected earnings per share, fully reflecting skepticism around such things as the drop off in cellular application processor sales at Research in Motion (RIMM). The company has increasing possibility of processor design wins at SAMSUNG (SSNLF), and it may get a lift from increased disk drive orders at Western Digital (WDC), its top customer, as the disaster in Japan has thrown off sales at Western’s competitor Toshiba (TOSBF).

Broadcom’s shares have been “in a nasty tailspin” of late, because of worries about “choppiness” in its wireless chip business with Samsung, and LG Electronics (LGERF), and possibly at Apple (AAPL). Several cellular vendors built units ahead of demand in Q1, he writes, which mah be causing some fall-off in orders. However, this is just a “bump in the road, he thinks.

As for Qualcomm, it is being hit by the same fears of “choppiness” in cell phones, but the company’s products are “well-positioned,” and expects smartphone “mania” to build in the latter part of this year. Meantime, the company’s baseband win in the iPhone 5, which he expects Apple to produce in a volume of 8 million units in Q3, could be a catalyst for the stock.

As for AMD and Nvidia, the former must make clear its ability to supply its 32-nanometer chips and must be able to turn recent design wins into clear revenue payoff, while Nvidia must recover from the sense that non-iPad tablets are showing weak sales, and that Nvidia may lose some graphics chipset sales in Apple’s notebooks.

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

If you’ve been closely following the government’s Insider Trading Fest(ivus) 2010/2011 you know that one thing that’s emerged is a detailed guide to how one should go about destroyed evidence of securities violations that a jury would not look upon kindly. Garrett Bauer spoke to us at length about the benefits of washing versus burning dirty money while Donald Longueuil, the foremost expert on the matter, provided a step-by-step guide to getting rid of incriminating USB drives (you’ll need: two pairs of pliers, four plastic baggies, one North Face fleece). Yesterday, an (alleged) accomplice of (accused) insider trader/former Galleon employee Zvi Goffer added a chapter on getting rid of a cell phone that could cause trouble.

Santarlas, testifying under a cooperation agreement with the government, said he and another former Ropes & Gray attorney, Arthur Cutillo, told Brooklyn, New York, lawyer Jason Goldfarb in 2007 about acquisitions involving 3Com Corp. and Axcan Pharma Inc. He said Goldfarb gave him $25,000 for the 3Com information and $7,500 for Axcan.

“When I received the cash, Jason had told me to dispose of the phone — break it in half, submerge it in water and put it in a garbage can,” Santarlas testified.

[Bloomberg]

Earlier: If You’ve Ever Wondered What Donald Longueuil Might’ve Sounded Like On The Cold December Night He Told A Colleague How To Destroy Evidence Of Insider Trading, Wonder No Longer (MP3)

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

FBR Capital semiconductor analyst Craig Berger offers an update on semiconductor trends, writing that Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (BRCM) semiconductor production trending higher than previously anticipated in the current quarter, with Nvidia’s Q1 production perhaps flat with Q4 thanks to its “Tegra” chip, which is finding its way into all manner of cell phones and tablet computers.

Broadcom’s Q1 production may be down just 6%, versus his prior expectation for an 8% decline. Berger sees Broadcom’s chips lifted by Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and by an iPad 2 introduction, and thinks Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Acer may shift some WiFi chip business the company’s way, yanking that business from Atheros, which is being acquired by Qualcomm (QCOM).

Berger also has heard through his sources that weak notebook sales this quarter are hurting disk drive orders at Seagate (STX) and Western Digital (WDC), which in turn is rippling out to affect sales for Marvell Technology Group (MRVL), which makes controller chips for disk drives: Marvell may see a 9% decline in production this quarter, worse than Berger’s prior estimate for an 8% drop.

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

Wireless chip maker CSR has agreed to merge with consumer chip maker Zoran in a deal valued at $679 million.

The deal creates a new powerhouse in consumer electronics and wireless technologies. CSR is a leader in personal wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, global positioning system (GPS), FM radio, and Wi-Fi. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Zoran makes consumer digital technology chips such as those used in cell phones, digital cameras and home entertainment.

Under the deal, Zoran shareholders will receive 1.85 ordinary shares of CSR (in American depository shares) for each share of Zoran common stock. Cambridge, England-based CSR will also return up to $240 million to shareholders via a share buyback program.

The companies say they will integrate their technology to create chips for location-aware, connected multimedia devices. Both are large-scale publicly traded companies. In 2010, Zoran had pro-forma revenues of $441 million.

Zoran has always been strong in imaging and video, making chips for DVD players, digital cameras and other devices by the millions. CSR has a lot of wireless technology. But those technologies now have to be integrated into the same chip for connected digital cameras and other devices.

Both companies have around $50 million. By the end of 2011, the companies anticipate being able to cut around $50 million in costs. The price represents about $13.03 a share on Zoran’s common stock, not counting the $240 million share buyback. The deal is about 65 percent stock and 35 percent cash. And the price is a premium of 39.9 percent over the closing price of Zoran on Friday, at $9.32 a share.

Zoran has about $261 million in cash. Upon completion of the deal, Zoran will own 35 percent of the combined company. CSR executives will run the company, while Levy Gerzberg, CEO of Zoran, will join the CSR board as a non-executive director and Zoran will appoint another independent director. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

Joep van Beurden, chief executive of CSR, will lead the combined company. J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Rothschild acted as CSR’s financial advisers and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Slaughter and May acted as CSR’s legal counsel.  Goldman Sachs & Co. acted as Zoran’s financial advisor and Jones Day acted as Zoran’s legal counsel. CSR’s revenues in 2010 were $800.6 million and its gross profits were $376.6 million.

Tags: video chips, wireless networking

Companies: Csr, Zoran

People: Joep van Beurden, Levy Gerzberg

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Toni Sacconaghi with Sanford Bernstein this morning writes that Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone has received “extraordinary” acceptance in Asia, “on a par with the U.S. in some cases.”
For example, data from IDC that Sacconaghi cites shows the iPhone now making up 12% of Japan’s cellular phone sales, meaning all cell phones, [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

As if it weren’t already a dominant player in communications chips, Qualcomm confirmed today that it will buy Atheros for $3.1 billion in a move to solidify its foothold.

The move positions Qualcomm as a powerhouse in Wi-Fi wireless networking chips, helping it secure its position as a leader in communications chips. San Diego, Calif.-based Qualcomm already has a huge position in chips for cell phones, and this deal gives it an edge in computer networking and consumer electronics as well. The deal is slightly less than the $3.5 billion figur ethat the New York Times reported yesterday.

With the acquisition, rivals such as Intel, Broadcom and Marvell will find it harder to challenge Qualcomm in communications. Presumably, Qualcomm will be able to combine computer networking and cellular communications chips into single devices. The deal is subject to closing conditions such as shareholder approval.

“It is Qualcomm’s strategy to continually integrate additional technologies into mobile devices to make them the primary way that people communicate, compute and access content,” said Paul Jacobs, chief executive of Qualcomm, in a statement. “This acquisition is a natural extension of that strategy into other types of devices.”

Atheros chief executive Craig H. Barratt is expected to join Qualcomm as president of Qualcomm Networking & Connectivity.

[photo credit: Reuters]

Tags: communications chips, Wi-Fi

Companies: Atheros, Qualcomm

People: Craig Barratt, Paul Jacobs

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Caris & Co. analyst Robert this morning weighs in with his pre-CES, end-of-year update on PCs, cell phones, and tablet computers. No surprise, tablets seem to offer the best prospects, in his view.
PC growth next year is expected to decline from 14% this year to something more like 9%, [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Bloomberg’s Susan Decker this afternoon reports that Sony (SNE) has filed suit against LG Electronics (LGERF) alleging patent infringement and requesting LG be blocked from shipping its cell phones to the U.S.
The complaint was filed yesterday with the ITC in federal court in Los Angeles. The suit says LG’s “Lotus [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Mobile TV chip maker Telegent Systems is announcing today that it has shipped more than 100 million chips that enable cell phones to display analog TV.

That’s a pretty big milestone for a technology that many thought would be outdated because of the demand for digital TV and video streaming on phones. But the market for analog TV on cell phones has taken off in emerging markets around the world.

What’s interesting about Telegent’s chips is that they are making a big difference in the lives of those who use them. That’s perhaps a greater impact than many expensive technologies that are designed for use by the digerati.

The Telegent chips are pretty cheap and enable users to watch broadcast TV for free on their phones. For many people in poorer areas, the phones become the only way that they can access TV programming. In developed countries, users watch TV while on the run or during commutes.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Telegent was the fastest-growing private company in Silicon Valley from 2007 to 2009, with 38,491 percent revenue growth. The company filed to go public earlier this year but decided to cancel the initial public offering in May, thanks in part to stock market jitters related to the slowdown in Europe. In June, Telegent hired Ford Tamer as its chief executive, replacing co-founder Samuel Sheng. About that time, Telegent was still saying that it had sold just 80 million chips. So it sold 20 million more chips in a fairly short time. I guess we should never underestimate the power of shows such as Wheel of Fortune in getting technology adopted around the world.

Tamer believes that the market for analog mobile TV will continue to grow in 2011 as more phone makers put the capability in their phones. He also thinks that interactive services will be integrated with mobile TV viewing, opening up new revenue opportunities for operators, broadcasters and service providers. He also thinks that Telegent has a shot at becoming a multibillion-dollar revenue company.

This month, Telegent is making prototype chips available for hybrid digital and analog TV receivers, targeting users in Latin America. The company is also trying to make its chips smaller, consume less power, and display better imagery. Will Strauss, analyst at market researcher Forward Concepts, estimates that 198 million mobile TV chips will chip in 2014.

The company expects demand for mobile TV to continue to grow with events such as the broadcast of the Cricket World Cup in Asia and the launch of low-cost ISDB-T phones, for mobile digital TV, in Latin America. Telegent’s customers range from Samsung to ZTE; more than 100 companies have designed phones with Telegent’s chips in them.

The company was founded in 2004 and has 200 employees. Rivals, mainly focused on mobile digital TV chips, include Siano and DiBcom. Over the years, Telegent has raised more than $50 million from New Enterprise Associates, Walden International, Index Ventures, and Northern Light Venture Capital.

Tags: analog TV, mobile TV

Companies: Dibcom, Siano, Telegent Systems

People: Ford Tamer, Samuel Sheng

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Socialwise announced today that it has raised $3.4 million in new funding to market its pre-paid credit cards geared towards teen spenders.

Socialwise has two main products. The first, called BillMyParents, gives parents a way to let their kids shop on online retail sites. Whenever a teen tries to buy something at site like Amazon.com, the parents are notified and have to approve the purchase. Socialwise then charges the parents an extra 50 cents for each transaction as part of the service.

Parents can also load their children’s allowance money onto a pre-paid card and track their children’s spending habits. A number of banks already offer this as a service. USAA, for example, has a pre-paid gift card that parents can program to reload with cash on set intervals. BillMyParents, like other pre-paid card vendors, lets parents view each individual transaction. BillMyParents will also send out alerts based on a child’s spending habits (such as when they are spending too much, too quickly.)

Socialwise’s funding comes at a peculiar time when investors can’t seem to decide whether they want transactions to go card-less or if they want to revamp how credit cards are used. Mobile transaction services like Boku and Zong, which rely on cell phones and other mobile devices to execute purchases, have raised a good bit of funding. Then you have companies like DEMO graduate Dynamics and their Card 2.0 product, which can carry multiple credit card numbers, also closing some significant funding deals.

Funding for BillMyParents is a bet on a card-populated future. Then again, that might not be a bad thing. I know I wish I had been trained to use a credit card over cash when I was younger. Sometimes it can be tough to cruise around San Francisco without cash, but being able to instantly cancel transactions is worth the inconvenience.

Tags: credit cards, mobile payments, pre-paid cards

Companies: Boku, Dynamics, SocialWise, USAA, Zong

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals