Marvell Buys Rival In-Vehicle Ethernet Supplier

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Marvell Technology Group Ltd. has agreed to purchase Aquantia Corp., a rival Silicon Valley ethernet specialist, for about $450 million.

The deal is expected to close by year-end. Marvell will pay Aquantia shareholders $13.25 per share. Marvell expects the acquisition will hike its revenue by $40 million next year.

Both companies supply transceivers and other physical-layer devices to enable high-speed ethernet communications among various in-vehicle electronic control units and sensors. The number of in-vehicle ethernet ports is expected to grow from 53 million units last year to 367 million in 2022, Marvell says, citing a Strategy Analytics forecast.

Marvell launched its gigabit ethernet system in late 2015. Last year Aquantia introduced a multi-gigabit unit that the companies say is necessary to allow sensors and controllers to share large data streams that will enable Level 4 and 5 autonomous driving.

Founded in 2004, Aquantia has 300 employees worldwide. Last month the company inked a deal with Qualcomm Technologies Inc. to co-develop 5G communication systems.