Fairchild Semiconductor Bidding Ignites Anew

Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc. said Tuesday that a bidder has revised its offer for the company in a duel with ON Semiconductor Corp. Fairchild said that an unnamed party revised its bid of $21.70 a share for the chip maker, which Fairchild had previously said was not superior to the $20-a-share bid made by Phoenix-based ON. Multiple news organizations reported earlier this month that the bidders were state-owned China Resources Holdings Co. and Hua Capital Management Ltd. Chinese investors have been actively seeking to buy chip companies, with Hua also attempting to buy OmniVision Technologies Inc. in the past year. Fairchild has struggled of late in a period of massive conglomeration in the chip industry, but was a seminal company in the development of Silicon Valley, launched by the "Traitorous 8" group of engineers who developed the first viable mass-produced integrated circuit. Fairchild shares gained about 4% in late trading, moving near $20.80.