The proximate source of a lot of this pressure is China, say SouthBay Economics' Andrew Zatlin. Semiconductors are suffering a fallout stemming from China's slowing economy just like other commodities have.

Chip makers are feeling pressures to find new sales, including by merging with rivals, amid declines in some businesses such as personal computers and rising expectations for margin growth.

Integrated Silicon Solution (ISSI) has finalized a definitive agreement to be acquired by Cypress Semiconductor for US$20.25 per share in cash, according to the fabless memory supplier.

Cramer said competitors like Intel, Samsung, Qualcomm, ARM and Nvidia will fight the deal in Washington because it has the potential to crunch their gross margins by bringing up costs. He also pointed out that Washington has been relatively unfriendly to larger mergers this year.

Integrated Silicon Solution (ISSI) and a Chinese consortium of investors led by Summitview Capital have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which the consortium will acquire all of the outstanding shares of ISSI for US$19.25 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015.

The memo sent to employees by Cypress founder and CEO TJ Rodgers on Wednesday shows plans to lay off about 1,600 workers worldwide with severances over the next three weeks, equally split between the two companies, with all North American employees being notified of their status by Friday.

The merged entity will become the market leader in auto semiconductor solutions and the market leader in general purpose MCU products, according to the companies.

Shares of all three Chinese telecommunications carriers rose on Thursday following speculation on social media of consolidation in the sector that would see China Telecom and China Unicom merge.

RF Micro Devices (RFMD) and TriQuint Semiconductor have set Wednesday, December 31, 2014, as the anticipated closing date for the transaction.

RF Micro Devices and TriQuint Semiconductor have announced a definitive merger agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock transaction. To reflect the nature of this transaction as a merger of equals, the new company will have a new name and shared leadership team.

Sprint, the third-largest US wireless carrier, jumped 8.3% amid speculation that the company is getting closer to merging with rival T-Mobile US.

Persistent speculation about a pending merger between Chinese fabless chip vendors RDA Microelectroics and Spreadtrum Communications may have some basis in reality, but word is that RDA has its sights set on a higher bidder.

Cymer and ASML continue to expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2013.

Fujitsu and Panasonic are in the final stage of talks to go ahead with a merger of their large-scale integrated chip (LSI) operations into a new company, NHK reported Friday.

FormFactor will acquire MicroProbe, a provider of advanced SOC wafer test solutions, for US$100 million in cash and US$16.8 million in stock, subject to customary adjustments. The merger is expected to close in the first half of FormFactor's fiscal quarter ending December 29, 2012.

Japanese regulators approved a merger between the nation's two biggest stock exchanges, paving the way for the first tie-up of major bourses after US$32 billion of global deals failed since last February.

Elpida Memory has entered the final stage of negotiations on a merger with Micron Technology and Taiwan's Nanya Technology, sources said.

Elpida and Nanya would discuss proposals including the creation of a holding company under which the two DRAM makers would operate, the paper said.

China's second- and third-largest contract chipmakers Shanghai Hua Hong NEC and Grace Semiconductor have agreed to merge in a sector in need of a consolidation and technology upgrades, sources said on Thursday.

According to the latest quarterly report from Mercom Capital Group, M&A activity in the third quarter could signal the start of a period of consolidation within the PV industry. Mercom Capital reported that there was US$563 million spent in 20 M&A transactions in the quarter with details disclosed for only eight of these downstream market deals.

Completion of the merger is slated for the second half of 2011.

Applied Materials and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates have announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Applied will acquire Varian for US$63 per share in cash. The acquisition will extend Applied's leadership in wafer fabrication equipment with the addition of the technology leader in ion implantation.

LTX-Credence has terminated plans to buy Verigy after accepting a US$15 million payment to end the agreement. The termination fee was received March 25, LTX-Credence said in a statement.

Verigy has said that an acquisition offer from Advantest is better than an earlier deal Verigy made to buy rival LTX-Credence. Advantest is offering US$15 per share for Verigy. Based on Verigy's 60.7 million outstanding shares as of March 1, the deal is worth US$910.8 million.

CSR and Zoran have entered into a merger agreement under which Zoran will merge with CSR for an equity value equivalent to approximately US$679 million. The merged company will provide differentiated, integrated technology that addresses the rapidly-growing market for connected, location-aware multimedia devices including handsets, digital cameras and home entertainment equipment.

Deutsche B繹rse and NYSE Euronext have unveiled their plan to create what would be the largest stock and derivatives exchange, while a second proposed merger would bring together the London Stock Exchange and Canada's TMX Group.

Elpida plans to finalize the business integration talks by the end of this month by obtaining approval from Taiwan authorities and securing support from financial institutions in Taiwan, sources said. Rexchip Electronics would become a holding company with Powerchip and ProMOS under its umbrella.

Elpida Memory intends to launch capital tie-up talks with Taiwan firms that are currently the world's sixth- and seventh-biggest DRAM chipmakers. Elpida president Yukio Sakamoto plans to visit Taiwan early next month (January 2011) to start the talks and hopes to reach a deal by the end of the company's fiscal year, according to sources.

"This acquisition is another step in our strategic expansion in the Asia Pacific region and, in particular, increases our scale and scope in the Australian market...". Australia-based itX distributes software, hardware and services from the world's leading suppliers including Oracle, IBM, HP, VMware, Apple, Citrix, Red Hat and Trend Micro.

Sprint's CEO, Dan Hesse, got the rumor mill churning yesterday when he spoke to the Financial Times about another possible merger between his company and T-Mobile.

But he declined to comment directly on market rumors that Intel could buy Infineon's wireless unit, which produces chips used in mobile network technology. "We have nothing we have to sell urgently..."

Completing a merger transaction between the former NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology, the newly established Renesas Electronics has commenced business operations.

Avnet announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bell Microproducts, which mainly distributes storage products, in an all cash merger for US$7 per share.

Telecom Italia rises more than 2%, boosted by report in Brazil's O Globo newspaper that it and Spain's Telefonica will announce a merger at the end of February or early March.