Infineon: Gold rush over

New strategy: Chipmakers like Infineon are now digesting their purchases and focusing on product development to target new growth areas such as the Internet of things and self-driving vehicles. – Bloomberg

SAN FRANCISCO: The semiconductor acquisitions bonanza, which soared to about US$110bil of deals last year, is over, according to Infineon AG chief executive officer Reinhard Ploss.

Industry consolidation “has decelerated,” said the head of Europe’s largest chipmaker by revenue, which kicked off the spate of deals with its announcement in 2014 that it would pay US$2.3bil for International Rectifier Corp. “It’s not the same gold rush.”