Marvell to Acquire Cavium for $6 Billion

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and Cavium, Inc. announced a definitive agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, under which Marvell will acquire all outstanding shares of Cavium common stock in exchange for consideration of $40.00 per share in cash and 2.1757 Marvell common shares for each Cavium share.

Upon completion of the transaction, Marvell will become a leader in infrastructure solutions with approximately $3.4 billion in annual revenue.

The transaction combines Marvell’s portfolio of HDD and SSD storage controllers, networking solutions and high-performance wireless connectivity products with Cavium’s portfolio of multi-core processing, networking communications, storage connectivity and security solutions.

The combined product portfolios provide the scale and breadth to deliver end-to-end solutions for customers across the cloud data center, enterprise and service provider markets, and expands Marvell’s serviceable addressable market to more than $16 billion.

This transaction also creates an R&D innovation engine to accelerate product development, positioning the company to meet the massive and growing demand for storage, heterogeneous computing and high-speed connectivity.

“This is an exciting combination of two very complementary companies that together equal more than the sum of their parts,” said Marvell president and CEO Matt Murphy. “This combination expands and diversifies our revenue base and end markets, and enables us to deliver a broader set of differentiated solutions to our customers. Syed Ali has built an outstanding company, and I’m excited that he is joining the board. I’m equally excited that Cavium’s co-founder Raghib Hussain and VP of IC engineering Anil Jain will also join my senior leadership team. Together, we all will be able to deliver immediate and long-term value to our customers, employees and shareholders.“

“Individually, our businesses are exceptionally strong, but together, we will be one of the few companies in the world capable of delivering such a comprehensive set of end-to-end solutions to our combined customer base,” said Cavium co-founder and CEO, Syed Ali. “Our potential is huge. We look forward to working closely with the Marvell team to ensure a smooth transition and to start unlocking the significant opportunities that our combination creates.”

The transaction is expected to generate at least $150 to $175 million of annual run-rate synergies within 18 months post close and to be accretive to revenue growth, margins and non-GAAP EPS.

Transaction Structure and Terms
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Marvell will pay Cavium shareholders $40.00 in cash and 2.1757 Marvell common shares for each share of Cavium common stock. The exchange ratio was based on a purchase price of $80 per share, using Marvell’s undisturbed price prior to November 3, when media reports of the transaction first surfaced. This represents a transaction value of approximately $6 billion. Cavium shareholders are expected to own approximately 25% of the combined company on a pro forma basis.

Marvell intends to fund the cash consideration with a combination of cash on hand from the combined companies and $1.75 billion in debt financing. It has obtained commitments consisting of an $850 million bridge loan commitment and a $900 million committed term loan from Goldman Sachs Bank USA and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in each case, subject to customary terms and conditions. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition.

The transaction is expected to close in mid-calendar 2018, subject to regulatory approval as well as other customary closing conditions, including the adoption by Cavium shareholders of the merger agreement and the approval by Marvell shareholders of the issuance of Marvell common shares in the transaction.

Management and board of directors
Murphy will lead the combined company, and the leadership team will have strong representation from both companies, including Marvell’s current CFO Jean Hu, Cavium’s co-founder and COO Raghib Hussain and Cavium’s VP of IC engineering Anil Jain. In addition, Ali will continue with the combined company as a strategic advisor and will join Marvell’s board of directors, along with two additional board members from Cavium’s board of directors, effective upon closing of the transaction.

Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Marvell and Hogan Lovells US LLP served as legal advisor. Qatalyst Partners LP and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisors to Cavium and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal advisor.

Marvell Preliminary Third Fiscal Quarter Results
Based on preliminary financial information, it expects revenue of $610 to $620 million and non-GAAP earnings per share to be between $0.32 and $0.34, above the mid-point of guidance provided on August 24, 2017.