Junko Yoshida is my friend. Permit me this name dropping. I can’t help it; she is a celebrated, award-winning, and globally recognized technology writer and media executive. Ask Junko, though, about her preferred title, and it will undoubtedly be, simply, journalist — technology journalist, that is. This week, another title dropped into Junko’s lap when…
Qualcomm Inc. was right to turn down Broadcom Ltd.’s “final” purchase offer. It is bad for both companies. A better deal is a merger of equals that promises major tax benefits for shareholders, a lower debt burden and swift integration. A merger is what Broadcom and Qualcomm should be discussing rather than the likely fruitless…
Avnet Inc. Is mending. It is not hale and hearty yet, though, and as it revels in recent financial wins, the distributor confronts a new challenge: shaking off the impression that it has fallen into an inescapable restructuring corkscrew. The perception that Avnet is perennially retooling operations clashes hard with the image that CEO William…
The electronics component distribution market is straining under severe margin pressures that are bound to persist until businesses in the sector come to terms with one harsh reality: there are too many of them. Further consolidation of the sector is necessary if surviving distributors are to reap the full benefits of restructuring actions undertaken in…
NXP Semiconductors N.V. needs a Plan B and maybe even Plans C and D. Broadcom Ltd.’s unwelcomed $130 billion offer for Qualcomm Inc. has thrown NXP’s plans of being absorbed by the American chipmaker into disarray. To avoid damages to its operations, NXP should develop an alternate growth strategy and start sharing this immediately with…
The consolidation of the semiconductor sector has moved into a new phase involving mega transactions that may trigger similarly large acquisitions in other segments of the electronics market and further the redrawing of the industry supply chain as OEMs, contract manufacturers and component distributors re-align with the new power centers. IC market consolidators had been…
Avnet Inc.’s ongoing restructuring actions have ruffled feathers internally and sparked controversy in the industry about the kind of future CEO William Amelio has envisaged for the top-tier components distributor. Perhaps the entire electronics supply chain should contemplate the same question because the structural issues Avnet is trying to resolve are similar to those facing…
The Conflict Minerals Regulation is here to stay. A part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law in July, 2010 by then President Barack Obama, the conflict minerals regulation has become a global phenomenon. Despised by many industry associations but publicly embraced by all of the major players in…
Is the electronics supply chain diving headlong into one of its infamous component undersupply situations and the associated procurement woes? Some industry veterans are concerned this may be the case as they watch average selling prices inch higher and demand strengthen in an environment marked by low inventories and limited manufacturing capacity. With companies keeping…
Politics will not determine your company’s success or failure in 2017, notwithstanding all the extraordinary events of the last year. As important as the ballot box is, it has significant limitations in the business world. Information about your company, its industry segment, the competitive landscape, market opportunities and challenges and how you harness these will…