Acquisitions · Semiconductors (magnetic sensors)
Sanken's US unit Allegro buys sensor maker Crocus for $420 million
- Buyer
- Sanken Electric (via Allegro MicroSystems) (Niiza, Saitama)
- Target
- Crocus Technology, Milpitas, California
- Value
- $420M in cash (about ¥59.7B)
- Status
- Completed October 31, 2023.
- Date
- 2023-08-08
Allegro MicroSystems, the Nasdaq-listed US chipmaker that is a subsidiary of Sanken Electric, agreed to buy Crocus Technology for $420 million in cash. Crocus, a private company founded in 2006, makes TMR (tunnel magnetoresistance) sensors that measure magnetic fields very precisely. Sanken disclosed the deal in Japan, putting it at about ¥59.7 billion.
Why it matters
Magnetic sensors are used in electric cars, solar inverters and factory robots; the deal gave the Sanken group a next-generation sensor technology in a growing market.
The deal
Allegro MicroSystems signed an agreement to buy Crocus Technology for $420 million in cash, paid with cash on hand and new borrowing. Allegro's parent, Sanken Electric, disclosed the deal to the Tokyo exchange on August 8, 2023, putting the cost at about ¥59.7 billion. The purchase was completed on October 31, 2023.
About Crocus
Crocus was spun out of the Spintec research lab in Grenoble, France, in 2006 and is based in Milpitas, California. Its XtremeSense TMR sensors measure magnetic fields, and so current and position, with high accuracy and low power. It held more than 200 patents and had shipped over 100 million sensors by the end of 2022.
How Sanken and Allegro fit together
Allegro, based in New Hampshire, was long majority owned by Sanken and listed on Nasdaq in 2020. It is one of the largest makers of magnetic sensor chips for cars. At the time of the deal Allegro was a consolidated subsidiary of Sanken, so Sanken disclosed the purchase as its own.
Strategy
Allegro said Crocus would speed up its TMR roadmap and broaden its products for e-mobility, clean energy and automation, three markets where precise current sensing matters.
What to watch
How fast TMR sensors win designs in electric vehicles, and whether Sanken keeps a large stake in Allegro, which received takeover interest in 2025.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
