Business Acquisitions (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Business acquisitions

BUSINESS ACQUISITIONS

Acquisition of Ident Technology AG

On February 9, 2012, the Company acquired Ident Technology AG, a privately-held semiconductor company that offers intellectual property and semiconductor solutions for the touch screen markets of the semiconductor and consumer electronics industries. The business acquisition was accounted for under the purchase method of accounting.  Total consideration paid for this business was approximately $39.5 million.  The initial purchase price of the acquisition resulted in purchased intangible assets of approximately $18.1 million, of which $8.2 million relates to in-process technology, and goodwill of approximately $17.4 million.  Goodwill recognized in this transaction is non-deductible. The purchased intangible assets (other than goodwill and the in-process technology intangible asset) are being amortized over a period of 10 years. The Company's purchase price allocation is not yet finalized, as management is still evaluating the deferred taxes associated with the transaction.

Acquisition of Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. (SST)

On April 8, 2010, the Company acquired SST, a publicly traded company based in Sunnyvale, California, in a merger transaction for $3.05 per share, or a total of $353.8 million, which included $295.4 million of cash consideration for the outstanding shares of SST common stock, and $58.4 million of SST shares acquired by the Company on March 8, 2010.  The SST business acquired included a variety of different business units including a licensing business focused on opportunities in the embedded control market, a microcontroller business, a variety of memory businesses and a Wi-Fi power-amplifier business. The Company's primary reason for this acquisition was to gain access to SST's SuperFlash^® technology and extensive patent portfolio, which it believes are critical building blocks for advanced microcontrollers.

The acquisition was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting, with the Company identified as the acquirer, and the operating results of SST have been included in the Company's consolidated financial statements as of the effective date of the acquisition. The purchase price of the acquisition resulted in purchased intangible assets of approximately $50.9 million and goodwill of approximately $25.0 million of which $19.2 million was allocated to the technology licensing reporting unit and approximately $5.8 million was allocated to the semiconductor products reporting unit. Purchased intangible assets included $32.9 million of core and developed technology, $13.1 million of customer-related intangibles, $2.3 million of acquisition-date backlog, $1.7 million of trademarks and trade names and $0.9 million of in-process research and development. The purchased intangible assets, other than acquisition-date backlog and in-process research and development, are being amortized over their expected useful lives which range between five to ten years. Acquisition-date backlog was amortized over one year and in-process research and development is capitalized until such time the related projects are completed or abandoned at which time the capitalized amounts will begin to be amortized or written off.

Other Acquisitions

During the year ended March 31, 2011, the Company completed two business acquisitions, in addition to SST, which were accounted for under the purchase method of accounting.  Total consideration paid for these businesses, net of cash acquired of $2.5 million, was $6.5 million.  As part of one of the acquisitions, the Company assumed a bankruptcy reorganization liability in the amount of approximately $19.4 million which was partially funded by the acquired company prior to the acquisition.    The bankruptcy reorganization liability was settled in the second quarter of fiscal 2012. The purchase price of the acquisitions resulted in purchased intangible assets of approximately $5.6 million and goodwill of approximately $1.0 million.  The purchased intangible assets are being amortized over a weighted average period of approximately seven years.  In addition, one of the acquisitions resulted in contingent consideration with an estimated fair value at the date of purchase of $2.0 million.

During the year ended March 31, 2010, the Company completed one business acquisition which was accounted for under the purchase method of accounting.  Total consideration paid for this business was approximately $9.3 million.  The purchase price of the acquisition resulted in purchased intangible assets of approximately $7.0 million, of which $2.9 million relates to in-process technology, and goodwill of approximately $4.2 million.  The purchased intangible assets (other than goodwill and the in-process technology intangible asset) are being amortized over an average period of seven years.  In addition, the acquisition resulted in contingent consideration with an estimated fair value at the date of purchase of $1.3 million. During the year ended March 31, 2012, a favorable adjustment to the contingent consideration of $1.0 million was included in special charges on the consolidated statements of income.