Peregrine Agrees To Be Acquired By Murata; Shares up 60%

Peregrine Semiconductor PSMI agreed Friday to be acquired for $12.50 per share in cash by Murata Manufacturing of Japan.

Peregrine traded recently at $12.42, up more than 61 percent.

The deal, valued at $471 million, is expected to close by early 2015. Excluding Murata's existing holdings in Peregrine, the transaction is worth $465 million.

Murata's head of business communications Norio Nakajima called Peregrine's innovations in radio frequency technology "a key strategic area" for the mobile industry.

Earlier this year, Murata agreed to obtain a majority of its RF switching requirements from Peregrine in exchange for a license to purchase or manufacture switches using Peregrine's technology.

"This transaction will deepen our existing partnership and position us to meet the expanding opportunities in this field," Nakajima said.