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Semiconductor maker Analog Devices Inc. Monday said it has offered to acquire Maxim Integrated Products Inc. for $20.91 billion in stock.

Maxim shareholders under the deal will receive 0.63 Analog Devices shares for each share they own. The overall price is higher than Maxim’s $17 billion valuation at the close of trading Friday. Maxim’s shares were rising more than 11% Monday morning, while Analog Devices’ fell more than 3%.

It’s the largest technology merger so far in 2020 and comes in the footsteps on broader consolidation across the semiconductor market. Deals in the market include Infineon Technology AG acquiring Cypress Semiconductor Corp. for $9.4 billion in June 2019 and NXP Semiconductors NV acquiring Marvell Technology Group Ltd.’s wireless connectivity business unit for $1.76 billion in May 2019. NXP itself had previously been subject to a $44 billion takeover offer by Qualcomm Technologies Inc. that was abandoned in July 2018 because of a delay in approval from Chinese regulators.

Founded in 1983, Maxim designs, manufactures and sells high-performance analog, linear and mixed-signal semiconductors that are used in the industrial, automotive communications, health care and consumer markets. The company has more than 7,000 employees, 35,000 customers globally and as of 2019 had $2.31 billion in sales.

Both Maxim and Analog have held merger and acquisition talks in the past to create a larger company to compete in the semiconductor market, with no major success to date. The combined companies, which would have a valuation of $68 billion, would be better situated to take on Texas Instruments Inc. in the analog semiconductor market.

Other deals in the space include ON Semiconductor Corp.’s acquisition of Quantenna Communications Inc. for $1.07 billion in March 2019, Nvidia Corp.’s acquisition of Mellanox for $6.9 billion also in March 2019 and Rensas Electronics Corp.’s acquisition of Integrated Device Technology Inc. for $6.7 billion in September 2018.

The acquisition would also be a sign that markets are recovering after a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Western markets in March.

Photo: Raimond Spekking/Wikimedia Commons