(Reuters) -Skyworks Solutions, which supplies radio frequency chips to Apple and other smartphone makers, will merge with rival Qorvo, the companies said on Tuesday, forming a combined company valued at about $22 billion. The stock-and-cash deal will create one of the largest U.S. suppliers of radio-frequency chips used in smartphones, cars and other connected devices. Qorvo shareholders will receive $32.50 in cash and 0.960 of a Skyworks share for each share held. Qorvo's shares, which have gained about 32% this year, surged about 11% in trading before the bell, while Skyworks' stock was down about 1%. Once the deal closes, Skyworks investors will hold about 63% of the merged company, with Qorvo shareholders owning the remaining 37% on a fully diluted basis. Skyworks designs and manufactures analog and mixed-signal chips used in wireless communication, automotive, industrial and consumer electronics. The firm had in August forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations, benefiting from steady demand for its analog chips. Apple's efforts to develop its own radio chips, first unveiled in the iPhone 16e earlier this year, could eventually reduce its dependence on suppliers such as Skyworks and Qorvo, weighing on their long-term sales prospects. However, analysts expect both companies to benefit from a recovery in smartphone demand following the post-pandemic downturn. In April, Qorvo appointed industry veterans Richard Clemmer and Christopher Koopmans as independent directors to its board, amid activist investor Starboard Value's push to boost the company's weak share price. Starboard had increased its stake in the firm to about 8.9%. The activist investor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deal A merger could also draw antitrust scrutiny, as it would combine two of the leading U.S. makers of radio-frequency chips used in smartphones. (Reporting by Disha Mishra and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sriraj Kalluvila)
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