Semiconductor supplier Renesas acquires 5G provider Sequans for $249 Million

Tokyo-based semiconductor supplier Renesas Electronics Corporation and Parisian 5G and 4G solutions provider Sequans have signed an MoU that will see the latter acquired in a deal valued at approximately $249 million.

Upon completion of the deal, Renesas intends to integrate the vast majority of Sequans’ cellular connectivity products and IP into its core product lineup, including microcontrollers, microprocessors, analog and mixed-signal front ends.

In early 2021, publicly listed Sequans secured $50 million in financing via Lynrock Lake Master Fund which consisted of $10 million of American Depository Shares and $40 million principal amount of convertible debt, all aimed at ‘strengthening the company’s balance sheet’.

At the time, the primary use of this financing was to be used towards the repayment of $11.7 million in convertible debt and interest that was due on the 14th of April 2021.

On the acquisition, Sequans CEO Georges Karam comments, “As many telecom operators around the world continue to invest in 5G infrastructure and with the expanding deployment of IoT applications, combining with Renesas opens up vast opportunities to usher in a new era of seamless connectivity and digital mobility that can transform a multitude of industries.”

From Renesas’ side, the company’s president and CEO Hidetoshi Shibata commented, “Sequans is a leader in the fast-growing cellular IoT market with wide cellular IoT network coverage. The company’s technology gives Renesas a path to offer broad connectivity capabilities across IoT applications to address the evolving customer needs.”