Saifun Shareholder to Oppose Sale to Spansion

Israel-based Saifun Semiconductors will face stern opposition from key shareholders to its Oct. 8 agreement to be acquired by Spansion Inc., Globes Online reported, citing unnamed sources. In an interview with Globes Wednesday, Saifun CEO Dr. Boaz Eitan defended his decision to sell the company for what amounts to an 8.5% premium. "I'm not ashamed. It's not because we didn't try, not because we lost our way and got sidetracked by the money," Eitan said. But investor Efi Gildor, who owns a 4.8% stake in Saifun, Wednesday sent a letter to the company's directors in which he claims Saifun allowed itself to be taken out at a "major discount." Gilder says Eitan failed to meet his own target, and that the price "does not reflect the potential of Saifun’s intellectual property." Gilder paid $31.3 million for his Saifun stake in 2005 before the company's IPO. He stands to lose about $20 million of that based on the agreed-upon price. Saifun's NROM non-volatile memory enables high-density applications on devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and USB drives.

Sources: Globes
Commentary: 3 Reasons Spansion's CEO Likes The Saifun Acquisition • Saifun: Does This Tree Have Roots?
Stocks to watch: SFUN, SPSN. Competitors: SSTI, STM, IFX

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