Chip Maker Buys Rival in $939 Million Deal

Microchip Technology Inc. agreed to buy Standard Microsystems Corp. for about $939 million, the latest sign of market forces pushing mid-sized semiconductor makers together.

The chip sector has many specialized vendors, some regularly hit by cyclical swings in the business. Others with ample cash reserves or borrowing power are snapping up smaller players, betting they can quickly make better returns on their money than other investments.

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Along with original content and posts from across the Dow Jones network, this section of AllThingsD includes Must-Reads From Other Web Sites — pieces we’ve read, discussions we’ve followed, stuff we like. Six posts from external sites are included here each weekday, but we only run the headlines. We link to the original sites for the rest. These posts are explicitly labeled, so it’s clear that the content comes from other Web sites, and for clarity’s sake, all outside posts run against a pink background.

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