Philips Electronics NV is not giving up on its hostile bid to acquire VLSI Technology Inc and has extended the $777m offer to April 16. The offer, which was originally due to expire last Thursday, values San Jose-based VLSI at $17 per share. VLSI said that its board of directors continues to recommend that its stockholders not tender their shares to Philips, which claims that only about 144,200 shares of VLSI’s common stock had been validly tendered and not withdrawn up until now.
Philips first launched the bid on March 5 and VLSI, after rejecting it outright, has been actively seeking a better deal from a pool of unnamed suitors. It says it has reached agreements with several of them for exploratory talks that will grant the would-be buyers access to inside information on VLSI’s business. Meanwhile, Philips and VLSI have been attempting to reach a similar agreement that would allow them to begin negotiating a revised offer. Reports have suggested that a sticking point has been the length of a stand still period during which Philips will suspend its hostile takeover.
