Adaptec, Symbios scrap merger
The companies are scrubbing their planned $775 million purchase agreement amid staunch opposition from the Federal Trade Commission.
"We are very disappointed that we are unable to complete this transaction," Adaptec chairman and chief executive Grant Saviers said in a statement. "While we are not in agreement with the FTC, we have concluded that it is in the best interests of both companies to terminate the transaction at this time."
Adaptec added that it would post a $20 million charge in connection with the transaction for the quarter ending June 30.
The episode is a reminder that antitrust laws can have a powerful effect on high-tech firms, even when they are relatively small in comparison to Intel and Microsoft, both of which are facing broad lawsuits alleging anticompetitive business practices.
Both Adaptec and Symbios make tools that connect peripheral devices to computers or workstations. Adaptec is a leading supplier of SCSI, or "scuzzy" adapter cards for Intel-based machines that run on Microsoft operating systems.
By contrast, Symbios, a division of Hyundai Electronics America, makes adapter "logic chips" that are embedded in motherboards, hard drives, and other devices manufactured by many of Adaptec's competitors.