ST seals Genesis purchase, fortifies DTV foothold

STMicroelectronics has concluded its acquisition of Genesis Microchip Inc., having performed all necessary steps to complete the acquisition, thereby expanding its foothold in the $1.5 billion DTV market.

"ST is a leader in digital consumer technologies, with a strong position in STB compression and decompression technologies and 'front end' processing technologies in DTV. Genesis is a leader in 'back-end' image and video processing and digital interconnect technologies," said Philippe Lambinet, corporate VP and general manager of ST's home entertainment & displays group. "Now that we have combined the two companies, ST will have the products, technology, IP and expertise to offer best-in-class integrated DTV solutions that our customers are increasingly demanding."

Genesis will be integrated into ST's home entertainment and displays group. Elias Antoun, CEO of Genesis, has joined ST and will lead the latter's TV and display initiatives, reporting to Philippe Lambinet.

ST last week completed its tender offer for Genesis, following the expiration of the subsequent offering period, which ST had previously extended. According to Mellon Investor Services LLC, the depositary for the tender offer, as of the expiration of the subsequent offering period, a total of approximately 34.2 million shares of Genesis common stock, representing approximately 89.1 percent of the outstanding common stock of Genesis, had been tendered to ST. Also, on Jan. 24, ST exercised its right under the merger agreement to purchase from Genesis at a price per share of $8.65 the number of newly issued shares of Genesis necessary for ST to control more than 90.0 percent of the outstanding shares of Genesis.

On January 25, 2008, ST completed its acquisition of Genesis through a merger in which all shares of common stock of Genesis not validly tendered and purchased in the tender offer were converted into the right to receive $8.65 per share in cash, without interest and subject to applicable tax withholding. As a result of the merger, Genesis became a wholly owned subsidiary of ST and the shares of Genesis were withdrawn from trading on the Nasdaq Global Market.