Counterpoint: Synergies could trigger a Synopsys-ARM merger

Jonah Probell
EETimes (10/13/2009 5:46 AM EDT)

(Editor's note: This article responds to our story on ARM success could trigger takeover bid, says analyst.)

Semiconductor intellectual property (IP) is a way for chip makers to share the cost of developing standard designs so that they can invest more in the differentiating features of their chips. For ARM to be controlled by any one of its customers or even a small group of its customers would break the IP business model.

ARM will certainly harvest splendid royalty payments from chip designs in a wide range of consumer electronics, including netbooks, smartbooks, and notebooks. Presumably that expectation is built in to ARM's current market valuation. As the strong market share leader in its field, ARM needs to provide standards-based product offerings beyond just processor cores.

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