Infineon is expanding its core activities in the field of automotive applications with an acquisition in the USA. The semiconductor company from Neubiberg near Munich has announced that it is acquiring the automotive ethernet business of Marvell Technology for 2.5 billion dollars in cash. The acquisition will be financed through equity and bank loans. Infineon intends to strengthen its activities for software-controlled vehicles with this step. The Group is thus supplementing its market-leading position in the microcontroller business. „The acquisition is an excellent strategic addition for Infineon,“ said CEO Jochen Hanebeck in a conference call with analysts.

The Dax constituent company ranks first in the automotive chip segment with a share of 13.5 %, followed by the Dutch supplier NXP with 10 %, followed by the French-Italian competitor STMicroelectronics (8.8 %). According to the company, Marvell has over 50 customers in the automotive industry, including many manufacturers.

Infineon expects the American supplier's automotive business to generate between 225 million US dollars and 250 million in the current year, with a gross margin of 60%. Revenues are expected to increase by a quarter each year until 2030. The division comprises „several hundred“ employees. Infineon expects to realise cost synergies through bundled research and development activities.

By way of comparison, last year Infineon's automotive division achieved sales of 2.1 billion euros. The operating margin was over 25%. The Group's gross margin was just over 40 %.

Given fears of drastically increased tariffs that might be imposed by US President Donald Trump, Infineon shares have suffered significant losses. In February, the stock was quoted at just over 38 euros, and was still benefiting from the CEO's confident outlook for the year following good quarterly figures. Late last week the shares were trading at around 27 euros.

Infineon expects the new acquisition to be finalised by the end of 2025. The relevant authorities must approve the transaction. This includes the important Committee on Foreign Investment in Washington.

The USA accounts for 10% of Infineon's consolidated revenue. The company's largest single market is China, which accounts for almost 40% of sales.

Infineon has also been expanding its activities with new acquisitions in the USA for ten years. In 2015, the Bavarians bought the power semiconductor specialist International Rectifier from California for 3 billion dollars. This acquisition was a major boost for the company in North America following its reorganisation and after overcoming the crisis. Five years later, Infineon acquired the US chip specialist Cypress Semiconductor for the equivalent of 9 billion euros.

At the time, this purchase price corresponded to four times the annual turnover of Rectifier. By comparison, the price for the Marvell division was 10 times the division's annual revenue. Some, therefore, regard the transaction with Marvell as very expensive for Infineon. The Group's management emphasises the strategic added value of the new acquisition.