The deal is expected to close June 15, pending shareholders approval.

The pickup strengthens "our position in battery management applications such as laptop computers, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, digital cameras, digital camcorders, uninterruptable power supplies and Hybrid Electric Vehicles," said Steve Sanghi, Microchip president and CEO.

Heretofore, Microchip has specialized in microcontroller offerings in the office automation, consumer and automotive market segments.

PowerSmart is a 4-year-old spin-off from Duracell. It is privately held and employs about 40 people at its headquarters and in facilities in Needham, Mass., and Plano, Texas.

"Microchip Technology's (integrated circuit) technology, in-house fabrication, and selling channels will greatly enhance our ability to provide customers with leading-edge products in battery management," said J. Norman Allen, PowerSmart's CEO.

PowerSmart had net sales of approximately $1 million in calendar year 2001, and is expected to contribute approximately $7 million to $8 million in revenue to in fiscal year 2003, and about $14 million to $16 million in revenue in fiscal year 2004.

The acquisition was announced after markets closed Wednesday. Earlier, shares of MCHP finished at 31.83. In the last 52 weeks, the issue has ranged from 14.79 to 33.99.

LATEST NEWS

Viacom: 'YouTube Intentionally Infringed'
Novell Teams With Ingres for SUSE Linux
FBI Says Cybercrime Skyrocketing
What Microsoft Learned From Botnet Takedown
CodePlex Launches Network Monitoring Project