Dialog Semiconductor to buy US peer Atmel for $4.6B

Chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor agreed Sunday to buy U.S. peer Atmel for about $4.6 billion, as the Anglo-German company seeks to expand its industrial product portfolio.

San Jose, Caif-based Atmel makes small processors called microcontrollers, which are used in electronics and other hardware.

Some $80 billion in semiconductor merger and acquisition activity has been racked up so far this year, the biggest year for chip deals since 2000, according to Thomson Reuters data.

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