6 Companies That Could Buy Peregrine Before The Murata Deal Is Complete

Murata Electronics North America (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Murata Manufacturing) recently announced its plans to acquire Peregrine Semiconductor PSMI.

Shares of Peregrine rose more than 60 percent after the deal was announced. If one analyst's prediction comes true, Peregrine's value could continue to rise.

"I think [the Murata offer] could be a wakeup call for others to take a look at [Peregrine] now," JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna told Benzinga.

Another Wall Street analyst (who asked not to be quoted by name) told Benzinga that the Murata deal was the "best available option for Peregrine."

"I don't think anybody else wants this business at all," the analyst said.

Related Link: Peregrine CEO Jim Cable Talks Murata Buyout, Apple Components And More

Jim Cable, PhD, chairman and CEO of Peregrine Semiconductor, told Benzinga that he didn't want to comment on the "specifics of what would happen" if another buyout offer was made.

"We invented this whole idea of RF SOI 20-plus years ago," said Dr. Cable. "…And I would say not only did we pioneer it, we still have the best performing RF SOI products. We have the strongest IP position. How that translates into what happens next, I'm not going to foretell."

Gauna likes the Murata deal and is confident that it will persevere, but he's not ruling out the possibility that another company will make a play for Peregrine. Read on to see his list of potential suitors.

1. Qualcomm QCOM

Gauna said that he can imagine a scenario where Qualcomm, "which is struggling with its own RF360, gets interested" in Peregrine.

2. Intel INTC

Noting that Intel does not currently have an answer to RF360, Gauna said that this company could also be interested in acquiring Peregrine.

3. Marvell MRVL

Gauna said that while there could be cultural problems, he speculated that Marvell might take a second look at Peregrine.

4. Samsung SSNLF

According to Gauna, Samsung is trying to develop its own internal solutions. To bolster that effort, the company could consider Peregrine.

5. Skyworks SWKS

Skyworks was another company that appeared on Gauna's list.

"Skyworks, which has plenty of financial wherewithal and plenty of mass to do this, has already set itself up with Panasonic in Japan [and] could also come in and be interested here," said Gauna.

6. Avago AVGO

Avago was also on Gauna's list, but he doesn't expect them to actually make an offer.

"I think their plate is full digesting what they've already got," he said.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.