EZChip OKs $811m acquisition by Mellanox

Mellanox says deal is the largest high-tech acquisition between two Israeli companies.

By NIV ELIS
Updated: JANUARY 21, 2016 04:59
The logo of Mellanox Technologies is seen on one of its office buildings in Yokneam (photo credit: REUTERS)
The logo of Mellanox Technologies is seen on one of its office buildings in Yokneam
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Shareholders at EZchip late Tuesday night approved the company’s $811 million acquisition by Mellanox, a deal Mellanox says is the largest hi-tech acquisition between two Israeli companies.
“With the receipt of the necessary shareholder approval, we are pleased to be another step closer to completing the acquisition of EZchip,” said Mellanox president and CEO Eyal Waldman.
The acquisition, he added, would enhance the company’s scale and profitability by broadening its product portfolio and adding “critical embedded processing intellectual property and know-how.”
The EZchip shareholders approved the deal, which was announced in September, by an overwhelming 84 percent.
The NASDAQ-listed Mellanox, founded in 1999, supplies solutions and services for servers and storage.
EZchip, founded the same year and also listed on NADSAQ, provides network processor and multi-core processor solutions.
Mellanox, which had a dual listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, raised eyebrows in 2013 when it announced plans to delist and trade solely on NASDAQ. Until that point, it had been one of the largest companies traded on the TASE.
As a result of the deal, EZchip will also delist from TASE.
Mellanox says that the merger, which is expected to be completed in February, will not result in any serious layoffs or employee downsizing.