Exar Corporation is an American semiconductor manufacturer which was acquired by
MaxLinear
MaxLinear is an American hardware company. Founded in 2003, it provides highly integrated radio-frequency (RF) analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for broadband communications applications. It is a New York Stock Exchange-traded comp ...
in May 2017 and maintained as a wholly owned subsidiary. It was established in 1971 as a subsidiary of the Japanese firm
Rohm
(styled as ROHM) is a Japanese electronic parts manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. Rohm was incorporated as Toyo Electronics Industry Corporation by Kenichiro Sato (佐藤 研一郎) on September 17, 1958.
The company was originally called ...
.
History
The Japanese
semiconductor company
The semiconductor industry is the aggregate of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductors and semiconductor devices, such as transistors and integrated circuits. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconduct ...
Rohm
(styled as ROHM) is a Japanese electronic parts manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. Rohm was incorporated as Toyo Electronics Industry Corporation by Kenichiro Sato (佐藤 研一郎) on September 17, 1958.
The company was originally called ...
established Exar as a California-based American subsidiary in 1971. At that time, the integrated circuit boardsdesigned and manufactured by Rohm were developed in the United States, and establishing an American subsidiary provided closer ties to the design process and provided a marketing foothold.
In the early 1980s, when Exar was running sales figures of around annually, only about ⅓ of sales were through its parent, Rohm. Part of the success of Exar and Rohm in the early 1980s stemmed from proprietary technologies developed between the two.
As a result of pressure from the U.S. Government for Japan to reduce its involvement in American industry, in particular in the semiconductor industry, Rohm began slowly divesting itself of Exar. Following Exar's
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
in 1985, Rohm's share of ownership had dropped to under 70%.
Exar's acquisition of Exel Microelectronics in the mid-1980s contributed heavily to a financial downturn in the company. Exar purchased Exel for its technology, but also for its chip fabrication facilities; however, unbeknownst to Exar at the time of purchase, those plants were not run-ready and required large amounts of capital investment, which ate into Exar profits through the end of the decade. In response to these problems, Rohm reversed its position on Exar by purchasing outstanding stock, leading to its again fully owning the company. Reacquisition by Rohm freed Exar to fully capitalize assets acquired from Exel and turn up the investment in research and development, leading again to profitability based in large part of new introductions in the
EEPROM
EEPROM (also called E2PROM) stands for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or as a ...
and
ASIC
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficien ...
product spaces.
After Rohm had rescued the company and supported its return to profitability, it changed course and began divesting again, leading in 1990 to holding less than 50 percent of Exar. From its inception, Exar's top executive staff and board had been picked by Rohm, and consisted largely of Japanese
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s. This changed in 1992 when Rohm removed Exar's
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, Nabuo Hatta, who had served in an executive post since at least 1985, when he was
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the company. Exar's board subsequently hired George Wells, a Scotsman educated at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, as the company's new chief executive; Wells had previously held positions at
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
and
LSI Logic
LSI Logic Corporation, an American company founded in Milpitas, California, was a pioneer in the ASIC and EDA industries. It evolved over time to design and sell semiconductors and software that accelerated storage and networking in data center ...
.
Wells oversaw a reorganization and re-prioritization of product offerings and introduced a culture of quality, leading to major increases in sales and income. Armed with a large cash surplus, and following Rohm's final divestment of Exar assets in 1994, Wells went on an acquisition spree in 1994 and 1995 which led to the purchases of Origin Technology, Micro Power Systems, Startech Semiconductor and Silicon Microstructures; all in all, these purchases enriched the technologies available to Exar. Acquiring so many companies in such a short period had consequences for the company, and Exar lost its profitability by early 1995.
On April 3, 2009, Exar Corporation closed the acquisition of hi/fn, inc., a transaction which included stock and about in cash. On August 3, 2011, Exar Corporation rang the opening bell at the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
MarketSite in New York. In honor of the occasion, Pete Rodriguez, President & Chief Executive Officer, rang the Opening Bell. On March 22, 2013, Exar acquired the assets of Altior in
Eatontown, New Jersey
Eatontown is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 12,709,MaxLinear Inc. announced it would buy Exar Corporation for about $661.6 million cash. The acquisition of Exar Corp for $687 million was completed in May 2017.
MaxLinear has subsequently discontinued production of Exar's most popular products, including the RS-232 interface chips, and the unique XR-2206 function generator.