Is a Merger in Store for Infineon?

5/28 - "Infineon's CEO Wolfgang Ziebart recently departed the company. This has given new energy to consolidation speculations. I think it is not without reason.

Ziebart, it is said, was a proponent of small acquisitions and organic growth. His exit seems to have come after internal management disagreements. With Ziebart gone, the doors are now open for larger mergers directed towards consolidation along the lines of the recent STM-NXP JV. One of the possibilities being floated around is a merger with NXP. Another possibility is a wireless JV with Freescale. Also, these possibilities are not mutually exclusively either."

"...the political and legal environment in Europe makes the NXP merger a real possibility as well. I repeat, European semiconductor manufacturers and the value chain are consolidating, and Infineon will be an active part of the big picture. So, don't be surprised if you see more mergers later this year."