Cypress Semiconductor again raised its offer for Integrated Silicon Solution, responding to a competing bid in the weeks-long courtship of the chipmaker.

Cypress increased its bid to $21.25 a share from $20.25, saying it was superior to an offer from Uphill Investment, according to a Cypress statement issued Thursday. The San Jose-based company's $707 million offer also includes a "ticking" fee that would add 10 cents a share for each additional quarter required to obtain regulatory approval for the deal.

Cypress and ISSI agreed to a $674 million deal on June 10 at $20.25 a share, after which Uphill raised its offer to $21 a share for the Milpitas-based company.

Uphill and Cypress have been trading bids for ISSI for several weeks during a record year for mergers and acquisitions in the semiconductor industry. Chipmakers increasingly are combining in the face of rising costs and a more concentrated customer base.

A deal with ISSI would give Cypress, a supplier of chips to communications companies, a range of memory products, including SRAM and DRAM chips.

Cypress on Thursday said ISSI was incorrect in asserting that the Uphill agreement was superior partly because it was expected to close in the third quarter. Cypress said it was confident about gaining regulatory approval quickly.

Cypress also added a reverse termination fee to its proposal, as offered by Uphill, though said the amendment was "entirely unnecessary" because its own proposal had no financing risk.

ISSI shares were little changed at $21.46 at the close, leaving the stock up 30 percent this year. Cypress shares rose less than 1 percent to $12.65.

By: DocMemory
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