Shares of Aliso Viejo-based networking equipment maker QLogic Corp. rose 10% after the company said it would be acquired for about $1 billion by Silicon Valley chipmaker Cavium Inc.
The deal has been unanimously approved by both boards and is expected to close this quarter; it’s not subject to a QLogic shareholders vote.
The transaction will be funded with cash, $750 million of committed financing—which includes $650 million of term loan and $100 million of short-term bridge debt—and new Cavium equity.
QLogic makes switches, adapter cards and other electronics used to speed up the flow of data.
The company, which was founded in 1994, is the latest in a series of sales in the local tech sector and underscores the ongoing consolidation in the global industry.
OC has lost several notable public companies in the last year or so, including several based in Irvine—chipmaker Broadcom Corp., laser maker Newport Corp., distributor Ingram Micro Inc., business software maker Kofax Ltd. and circuit board maker Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc.—as well as Costa Mesa networking gear maker and QLogic rival Emulex Corp.
