semantics unlimited

Good horror movies are hard to come by!

The name says is it all

Two weeks after PMC-Sierra Inc. struck a deal to be acquired by Skyworks SolutionsInc., Microsemi Corp. swooped in with its own offer Monday, a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $2.2 billion.

California-based Microsemi said that its proposal would amount to $11.50 per PMC share, and is superior to the Skyworks offer of $10.50 a share in cash for semiconductor and software-solutions developer PMC.

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Skyworks Solutions to Buy PMC-Sierra for $2 Billion in Cash (Oct. 6)

In early trading, shares of PMC jumped 14% to $11.69, while shares of Microsemi declined by 2.9% to $36.28. Skyworks shares were down by about 0.4% to $79.26.

Under the terms of Microsemi’s proposal, PMC shareholders will receive $8.75 in cash and 0.0736 of a share of Microsemi stock for each share of PMC held.

The boards of both Skyworks and PMC have approved Skyworks’ deal, which was expected to close in the first half of 2016.

Skyworks said the acquisition is aimed at boosting the company’s products geared to handling a growing class of computing chores known by the phrase Big Data. Following the deal, Skyworks said it expects annual revenue of more than $4 billion with operating margins exceeding 40%.

The Woburn, Mass.-based Skyworks, which generates a big chunk of its revenue from China, has been battered lately as concerns over growth in China have intensified.

The late show

These are the movers and shakers of the day

1. Google. 

Tech no. 1

2. Tumblr 

Tumbling with Yahoo

3. FaceBook

Like Unlike

4. Uber All

Google Inc. on Thursday rebuffed the European Union’s demand that it change the way it ranks online comparison-shopping services in its search results, setting up a potentially drawn-out legal battle between the search giant and a regulator empowered to levy billions of euros in fines.

In a formal response Thursday to antitrust charges the EU filed this spring against the California company, Google argued the bloc’s antitrust regulators erred in their analysis of the fast-changing online-shopping business, misconstrued Google’s impact on rival shopping-comparison services, and failed to provide sufficient legal justification for its demands.

This is a new kind of company

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Crossing Our Desk:

- Over the weekend, a new version of bitcoin’s software was released, Bitcoin XT. It’s a line in the sand – a “hard fork” in the parlance – and an attempt to force the bitcoin community into accepting chan

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Kik Interactive Inc., the Canadian startup behind a popular messaging app, said it has turned to Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. for a $50 million 

investment that values the company at $1 billion.

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Ben is the new superman

Whatever

OK

The company said Tuesday that it sold 47.5 million iPhones in the three months ended June 27, an increase of about 35% from a year earlier and more than double the tally from four years ago. The strong sales come in a traditionally weaker quarter for iPhones as consumers hold off on purchasing new models until the fall when Apple typically introduces them.

Apple Music bows down to Taylor

Taylor swift performed at BST

Taylor Swift has reversed her Apple stance.

The pop singer wrote on Twitter Thursday morning that her best-selling album “1989” will be available on the tech giant’s forthcoming streaming service, Apple Music. Apple Inc. confirmed the news. A representative for Swift’s label, Big Machine, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Swift made headlines over the weekend after posting an open letter to her Tumblr, criticizing the service because she said artists would receive no money during a an initial three-month free trial period for new users. “We don’t ask you for free iPhones,” she wrote. “Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.” In the letter she said she wouldn’t put “1989” on Apple Music; the album, which has been out for about nine months, hasn’t been available on competing streaming services such as Spotify AB or Google Play All Access.

The letter prompted Apple to reverse course, and pledge to pay artists when their songs were streamed during the free-trial period. Swift’s letter was applauded by the industry.

Many independent labels had held off from licensing Apple Music partly because they wanted royalties during the free trial period. Shortly after Apple’s reversal on the issue, several thousand independent labels struck deals with Apple.

The American Association of Independent Music, a trade group, said on Wednesday: “We thank Apple Music for hearing our concerns.”

As of mid-day on Thursday, Apple still hadn’t told the major record labels what it proposed paying them for their music during the free trial. But people close to those companies described the issue as largely symbolic, since Apple is likely to offer a relatively low rate during the temporary free trial, but is offering higher rates than competitors once users start paying $10 monthly subscription fees.