Huawei is working on plans for a dedicated chip plant in Shanghai that would not use American technology, enabling it to secure supplies for its core telecom infrastructure business despite US sanctions.
Two people briefed on the project said the plant would be run by a partner, Shanghai IC R&D Center, a chip research company backed by the Shanghai Municipal government.
Industry experts said the project could help Huawei, which has no experience in fabricating chips, chart a path to long-term survival.
US export controls imposed in May and tightened in August leverage American companies’ dominance of certain chip-manufacturing equipment and chip-design software to block semiconductor supplies to Huawei.
If it succeeds, it can become a bridge to a sustainable future for their infrastructure business
Industry experts said the planned local facility would be a potential new source for semiconductors after stocks of imported chips Huawei has been accumulating since last year ran out.
The fabrication plant will initially experiment with making low-end 45nm chips, a technology global leaders in chipmaking started using 15 years ago.
But Huawei wants to make more advanced 28nm chips by the end of next year, according to chip industry engineers and executives familiar with the project. Such a plan would allow Huawei to make smart TVs and other “internet of things” devices.
Huawei then aims to produce 20nm chips by late 2022, which could be used to make most of its 5G telecoms equipment and allow that business to continue even with the US sanctions.
“The planned new production line will not help with the smartphone business since chipsets needed for smartphones need to be produced at more advanced technology nodes,” said a semiconductor industry executive briefed on the plans.
“But if it succeeds, it can become a bridge to a sustainable future for their infrastructure business, in combination with the inventory they have built and which should last for two years or so,” he said.
“They possibly can do it, in maybe two years,” said Mark Li, a semiconductor analyst at Bernstein in Hong Kong.
He added that while the chips Huawei needed for making mobile network base stations would ideally be made on 14nm or more advanced process technology, using 28nm was possible.
“Huawei can make up for the shortcomings on the software and system side,” he said. Chinese producers could tolerate higher costs and operational inefficiencies than their offshore competitors.
The project, first reported by Chinese newspaper Caixin last month, could also jump-start China’s ambitions to shake off its dependency on foreign chip technology, particularly from the US, which wants to slow China’s development as a technology power.
Huawei has already been investing in the domestic semiconductor sector, especially among smaller operators, a chip industry executive said.
“Huawei has strong abilities in chip design, and we are very happy to help a trustworthy supply chain develop its capabilities in chip manufacturing, equipment and materials. Helping them is helping ourselves,” rotating chairman Guo Ping told journalists in September.
According to chip engineers and industry executives, Huawei plans to eventually equip its domestic production exclusively with Chinese-made machinery. But analysts caution that such a goal is several years away.
“Such a facility would most likely run on a combination of equipment from different Chinese suppliers such as AMEC and Naura, plus some used foreign tools which they can find in the market,” Mr Li said.
He added that manufacturing chips in such an environment would be less efficient and more costly. But Huawei could afford this because the volume of the semiconductors needed for base stations was much lower than for a mass product like smartphones.
Huawei and ICRD declined to comment on the plans for the production facility.
“You will not obtain any information from us here, we cannot give you anything,” said Huang Yin, an ICRD spokeswoman. “This is rather sensitive.”
A major shareholder of ICRD is state-owned Huahong Group, which also controls contract chipmakers Huahong Grace and HLMC.
SimpleMachines' computer chip may not look all that different from what already exists in many computers, but the company's founder said the technology has the potential to speed up advancements in software development.
A Madison-based startup says its new technology could revolutionize computer programming and advance development of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Founded in 2017 by UW-Madison researcher Karu Sankaralingam, SimpleMachines Inc. is ready to launch a new type of computer chip that Sankaralingam said is faster and more powerful than currently available chips while using less electricity.
Launching sales early next year with about 300 manufactured computer chips — called Mozart — SimpleMachines will begin working with customers — primarily companies with large data centers, such as banks — to adopt the new computer chip.
Sankaralingam said the chip has the potential to speed up development of artificial intelligence and machine learning, which has been hindered by hardware that can’t keep up.
“These things are changing very, very fast, and having a hardware solution that provides high performance and still supports that pace of evolution is very important,” Sankaralingam said.
Chips are at the core of what any computer does. Electronics from calculators to cell phones to cloud-computing servers are able to function because of the chips they use. Many chips are built for specific purposes — such as those in calculators or cameras — while others — such as cell phones and personal computers — are built to run many applications.
SimpleMachines’ chips have the potential to replace most other chips, Sankaralingam said, because it is more powerful and can be reprogrammed for new uses.
Sankaralingam launched SimpleMachines as computer chip development hit a roadblock — it was becoming harder to make better chips at a cheaper rate that were also energy efficient. While that was becoming more difficult, artificial intelligence and machine learning was advancing at rapid speed.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning need to process mass amounts of data and run many programs at one time, but Sankaralingam said many computer chips aren’t up to the task, either because they aren’t powerful enough or they use too much electricity to be cost efficient.
“That was really an opportunity for us,” Sankaralingam said. “We can strike when it’s really hot right now.”
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The SimpleMachines chip addresses all those problems, Sankaralingam said. A single chip can run more programs at the same time and process data faster than other chips while also using less energy.
Though they can be built to run on less power, SimpleMachines designed this first chip to run on 75 Watts, which is the standard for most of the current machines processing massive amounts of data.
Into the cloud
The chips aren’t likely to find their way into your home computer anytime soon. Instead, SimpleMachines hopes to sell the chips to the companies doing the cloud computing that supports many aspects of online life, such as image recognition or video recommendations.
Every year, as new tech comes along, electronic devices become obsolete because the devices’ chips were developed for only one task or application. The speed that software programs evolve far outpaces the speed of hardware development.
“These applications are changing every six months, but it takes two to three years to build a chip,” Sankaralingam said. “It’s like, ‘I want to build something to do this,’ but one year later than thing is not important anymore. The chip you built is kind of useless.”
50 employees
Take GPS systems such as Garmin devices, for example. Those systems were a revolution for navigating in a car, but now, smartphones can run a GPS app well enough for most drivers.
Those years-old GPS devices are no longer useful because the chip inside can only run mapping and navigational software. But if a chip like the ones made by SimpleMachines existed, Sankaralingam said it could be reprogrammed with a software update to do other things, like become a screen for backseat passengers to watch movies.
In the three years since the company’s founding, it has grown to about 50 employees, many of whom are based in Madison or California. Among the ranks, Sankaralingam said, are a few engineers who formerly worked for computer-chip giants Qualcomm and Intel.
SimpleMachines will still have to compete with those computer-chip giants, but Sankaralingam is optimistic businesses will be willing to adopt this new chip.
No. 8: Michael Norregaard, Sonic Foundry, $262,746
Base salary: $250,916
All other compensation: $11,848
Norregaard took over as CEO when Gary R. Weis retired in May, 2019.
Weis' base salary: $402,343
All other compensation: $5,169
Weis' total compensation from Sonic Foundry in 2019: $407,512
Compensation data was collected from SEC filing 10 A/K submitted by the company in January 2020.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
No. 7: Stephen L. Schlecht, Duluth Holdings, $316,211
Base salary: $316,211
No other compensation for Schlecht from Duluth Holdings is listed on SEC filing DEF 14A, submitted by the company in April. Schlecht is listed as the chairman and founder of Duluth Holdings on the company website. He took over as CEO when Stephanie L. Pugliese resigned in August 2019.
Pugliese's base salary: $450,795
Stock/option awards: $975,005
Pugliese's total compensation from Duluth Holdings in 2019: $1,425,800
STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL
No. 6: Corey A. Chambas, First Business Financial Services, $1,231,746
Base salary: $466,000
Stock/option awards: $276,879
All other compensation: $488,867
Compensation data was collected from SEC filing DEF 14A submitted by the company in March 2020.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
No. 5: Jeffrey M. Keebler, MGE Energy, $2,381,012
Base salary: $591,667
Stock/option awards: $345,015
Bonus pay: $412,425
All other compensation: $1,031,905
Compensation data was collected from SEC filing DEF 14A submitted by the company in March 2020.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
No. 4: Jerome Griffith, Lands' End, $5,414,578
Base salary: $1,019,231
Stock/option awards: $2,309,982
All other compensation: $2,085,365
Compensation data was collected from SEC filing DEF 14A submitted by the company in March 2020.
STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES
No. 3: John O. Larsen, Alliant Energy Corp, $7,619,999
Base salary: $754,615
Stock/option awards: $2,473,403
All other compensation: $4,391,981
Larsen took over as CEO for Alliant Energy Corp when Patricia L. Kampling retired from the company in July 2019.
Kampling's base salary: $643,468
Stock/option awards: $3,464,092
All other compensation: $1,400,554
Kampling's total compensation from Alliant Energy Corp in 2019: $5,508,114
Compensation data was collected from SEC filing DEF 14A submitted by the company in April 2020.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
No. 2: Kevin T. Conroy, Exact Sciences Corp, $18,716,543
Base salary: $792,169
Stock/option awards: $16,898,172
Bonus pay: $1,000,250
All other compensation: $25,952
Compensation data was collected from SEC filing DEF 14A submitted by the company in April 2020.
PHOTO BY MICHELLE STOCKER
No. 1: David M. Maura, Spectrum Brands Holdings, $19,688,122
Base salary: $900,000
Stock/option awards: $12,309,411
All other compensation: $6,478,711
Compensation data was collected from SEC filing 10 A/K submitted by the company in January 2020.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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The Acer Swift 3x will be one of the first laptops to use Intel's Iris Xe Max GPU.
Josh Goldman/CNET
Intel's latest flavor of its upgraded graphics architecture, Iris Xe Max, rolls out this week in three debut systems: the Acer Swift 3x, Asus VivoBook Flip TP470 and Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1. Though Iris Xe, the integrated version baked into Intel's 11th-gen mobile processors, has already arrived in the Asus ZenBook 13 and others, Iris Xe Max is Intel's first discrete graphics processing unit (GPU) in quite a while. It's intended to obviate the need for partners to turn to Nvidia'sGeForce MX line of graphics for laptops capable of casual 1,080-pixel gaming and entry-level creation. Intel offers a little something extra as incentive: Deep Link, which allows a system to combine the integrated and discrete Xe GPU's processing power for creative tasks like AI inferencing and rendering (Additive AI) and video encoding (Hyper Encode).
Intel also revealed that it hopes to bring Iris Xe Max graphics to basic sub-$1,000 PCs by the end of June 2021.
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Deep Link is part of Intel's latest generation of its Adaptix performance tuning suite for partners, and includes Dynamic Power Share, which automatically allocates power and cooling to the computer processing unit when the GPU is idle, for better sustained processing performance. That's similar to AMD's SmartShift, though SmartShift juggles CPU and GPU resources in both directions. So, at the very least you'll see markedly better benchmark and battery numbers in the Xe Max laptops over models with Nvidia MX chips.
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Iris Xe Max also adds two driver-controlled features for gaming: Game Sharpening and Instant Game Tuning. Like AMD's and Nvidia's Image Sharpening, Game Sharpening allows you to use slightly lower-quality textures that are automatically processed to deliver better-looking results at higher frame rates than they'd normally have.
The Iris Xe and Iris Xe Max GPUs are based on Intel's Xe-LP architecture, the first of its long-awaited voyage into the significant revamp of its graphics technologies. Also on deck are rollouts for gaming-centric GPUs based on Xe-HP and high-performance computing (aka data center) Xe-HPC architectures.
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WASHINGTON — The contests for Texas’ 38 presidential electoral delegates and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s seat may be consuming national interest, but it's a personality-driven, political prize fight in Central Texas that has most intrigued Texas insiders and activists for most of the very strange 2020 election cycle.
That brawl is between two Austin-based political heavyweights, Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and Democratic former state Sen. Wendy Davis.
One does not need to live in the 21st Congressional District to have an all-consuming interest in this race. Roy, a conservative firebrand, and Davis, a liberal icon, have almost nothing in common, but they do share two traits: Each candidate has a passionate following, and each is a highly polarized political villain to their opposition partisans.
“This is a unique race for a few reasons,” said David Wasserman, the U.S. House race analyst for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “First, you've got two very polarizing nominees and a challenger who may have started out better-known than the incumbent. Second, you've got two fast-growing major metropolitan areas that are rapidly moving towards Democrats and potentially historic turnout.”
And while the candidates and their super PAC allies are litigating every issue on the fore in American politics — including health care, policing, Austin homelessness and taxes — the overriding point of contention between Roy and Davis is how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout.
Davis has spent most of the pandemic stationed inside her Austin home.
“I have never spent so much time on the phones fundraising,” she said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “I fundraise every single day.”
Davis would only let up in order to participate in virtual campaign events. Only in recent weeks did she venture out for more face-to-face campaigning.
Roy, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has criss-crossed the district in a retail campaign blitz. He has attended high school Friday night football, meet-and-greets at restaurants, knocked on doors, and more recently he’s attended events with his political patrons like former Gov. Rick Perry.
On Twitter, Roy fiercely argues against many restrictions intended to mitigate the spread of the virus. The argument is also central to one of his television advertisements several weeks ago.
“Some say it’s a hoax. Others say shut it down. Two extremes, both wrong,” he said. “I’m Chip Roy, and here’s some Texas common sense: We can reopen safely. Smart precautions to preserve life while actually living it.”
Davis has conceded feeling cooped up indoors. At the same time, she used that time to build a massive financial advantage over Roy.
Earlier this month, she reported raising $8.8 million this election cycle, compared with Roy’s $4.6 million.
She’s used that money to blast him on television over his COVID-19 response. In one ad, Davis is featured in a hospital while wearing a face mask and features an emergency room doctor named Ryan Allen.
“Chip Roy is an elected leader, but he’s all over town not wearing a mask in crowded indoor places, dismisses reports about the danger to children and Chip Roy continues to advise an extreme plan to infect two-thirds of the population to stop the virus,” he said. “That’s not just against modern science, it’s against human life.”
A changing Texas stage
Donors say Davis is relentless in her campaign, sometimes calling every other day asking for more money. But beyond that, Davis was never your average congressional candidate.
In her time as a state senator, she represented a Fort Worth-based district that was fiercely competitive. After a 2013 filibuster of anti-abortion legislation in the Texas Senate, Davis became a national political star with an abnormally large network and following. But a year later, her political star in Texas plummeted when she lost both the 2014 gubernatorial race and (and the votes in CD-21) to now-Gov. Greg Abbott by roughly 20 points.
The Democratic nominee for CD-21 in 2018, Joseph Kopser, came within 2.6 points of defeating Roy. Frustrated with his inability to fund a robust television advertising campaign, Kopser searched for a Democratic candidate who could clear the primary field, raise the money to sustain the San Antonio and Austin media markets and bring to the race ready-made name identification.
He settled on Davis.
“I can't imagine a better fit,” he told the Tribune.
And so this race offers Davis a shot at political redemption.
She and other Democrats say 2014 was a long time ago, and memories of the filibuster and the gubernatorial campaign have faded among many voters and donors. Instead, she is introducing herself to voters as a grandmother.
“For a lot of people who have given to our race, I don’t think even to this day — I don’t think they know that, or even if I told them that I’m not sure they would remember or are even aware that it happened,” she said of the filibuster.
The race in the district, which is home to many new residents, is expected to go down to the wire. The Austin and San Antonio suburbs have exploded since the district lines were drawn nine years ago.
That rendering intended to protect the seat’s 41-year Republican domination. The current lines were deftly gerrymandered, snaking through downtown Austin, stretching along the western side of Interstate-35, cutting into northern San Antonio and extending out west deep into the Hill Country.
Wasserman, the U.S. House race expert, anticipates “a very close race.”
“But given the rate at which Travis, Hays and Bexar are moving towards Democrats, I'd be somewhat surprised if Roy hangs on,” he said.
Marking his own path
Jenifer Sarver ran against Roy in the 18-person Republican primary field in 2018, and says she is skeptical of that train of thought.
“Everything seems so uncertain, but if I had to bet on it, I would say that Chip is going to win,” she said. “That district is still conservative.”
“He has managed to brand himself as a bit of an independent, even though being a strong supporter of Trump,” she added. “That is appealing to people.”
But in the CD-21 counties that do not touch Interstate 35, Democratic numbers fall off a cliff.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz ran up margins that often far exceeded 50 points in that part of the district. And enthusiasm for Trump is potent in these rural stretches.
In Comal County, which I-35 bisects, Trump supporters engage in a weekly ritual called “the Trump Train.” In New Braunfels every Thursday night, hundreds of Trump supporters gather, wave Trump flags and caravan through town.
As for Roy, he brings his own strengths to the race.
A protégé of some of the state's most prominent Republicans, he made a boisterous impression during his first term.
Roy's Democratic colleagues anticipated the former chief of staff to Cruz to be a pugnacious force. But unlike his former boss, Roy has cut an affable persona in the halls of the Capitol, a persona recognized by both Republicans and Democrats.
But he remains a former Cruz staffer at heart. Legislatively, he frustrated even some fellow Republicans when he held up Hurricane Harvey aid. And two sources told the Tribune last year that Roy yelled at House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff in a closed-door hearing as tensions escalated ahead of the House impeachment inquiry of Trump.
Originally from Virginia, Roy is a lively tea party-type who professes an undying love for Texas. And Davis re-emerged on the Texas political scene as the face of the Austin's Women's March in 2017, pink hat and all.
While Wasserman and Kopser say Davis may have an edge, state and national Republicans who are closely following this race say they have reason to believe momentum is with Roy.
Davis, of all people, professes to be agnostic.
“It is a tough tough district there’s no question about it,” she said. “My gut is, we’re not going to have any inkling of what’s going to happen in this race until it happens.”
Disclosure: Joseph Kopser and Jenifer Sarver have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Of course, you can buy tortilla chips at the store, but there are many good reasons to make your own. For one, they can support more toppings, since they’re likely to be thicker. And you can control the level of salt and browning. This recipe allows you to bake or fry them: Frying results in the crispiest, snappiest crunch, while baking is incredibly easy. If you decide to fry, mind your stovetop heat, adjusting as needed so the chips turn golden in the same time it take them to crisp. The chips are delicious on their own, with salsa or guacamole, or in nachos, chilaquiles or migas. Keep the chips in a sealed container or bag and they will stay beautifully crisp for at least one week.
Semiconductor deals have reached a frenzy. With more than $100 billion worth of acquisitions announced this year, including two major ones this past week, the chip sector is being rethought and remade by the companies rich enough to strike deals.
The buying frenzy has as much to do with physics as balance sheets. As the billions of transistors that power today’s chips grow closer to a single atom in size, the research and development costs have mounted, steadily increasing to the point where smaller businesses can’t afford the leap to next-generation chips. More than ever, size matters.
“By not addressing your scale, you’re taking a lot of risks, getting yourself into trouble further down the line,” says Pierre Ferragu, an analyst with New Street Research.
The need for scale is one of the arguments that Advanced Micro Devices (ticker: AMD) CEO Lisa Su made to Barron’s this past week, after her company reached a deal to acquire Xilinx (XLNX) for $35 billion. The all-stock transaction, announced Tuesday, values Xilinx shares at $143, roughly a 25% premium to the previous day’s ending price. AMD expects the acquisition to close by the end of next year.
“The semiconductor industry is a high-stakes investment game,” Su said. “From that standpoint, scale is very important. The more scale you have, the broader the solutions you can put together, the more you can do for your customers.”
But with great scale, comes great responsibility—and risk. For years now, AMD has been a fairly straightforward business—building increasingly powerful computer and graphics processing units for computers, videogame consoles, and data centers. Not a simple enterprise, by any means, but one with a clear objective that provided a reason to buy the stock. AMD has executed fabulously well.
Analysts expect the company to generate $9.4 billion in sales this year, up 40% from the total a year ago, with net income more than doubling to $1.5 billion, or $1.22 per share, on an adjusted basis. Analysts forecast earnings to grow another 50% next year. The growth helps explain why AMD shares have soared 126% in the last 12 months.
The Xilinx deal, though, brings AMD into the unknown. Xilinx has long been known for its expertise in so-called field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), chips that can be reprogrammed after they are produced. FPGAs are especially useful in emerging technology, such as 5G wireless infrastructure, for which there aren’t yet custom-designed semiconductors. AMD’s chief rival Intel (INTC) made a similar bet on FPGAs when it acquired Altera for $16.7 billion in 2015. That hasn’t exactly been a game changer. Shares of the chip giant have returned just 48% over the past five years, badly trailing the S&P 500 index.
“My first reaction is that AMD is simply following the playbook that Intel has already laid out,” says Brian Bandsma, a portfolio manager at Vontobel Asset Management, says of the Xilinx purchase.
Xilinx sales are projected to shrink 3% this fiscal year, to $3.08 billion from $3.16 billion a year ago. “It doesn’t seem to be a huge growth story right now,” Bandsma says.
One institutional investor tells Barron’s that its fund unloaded its AMD position Tuesday because the stock’s rich multiple—the shares fetch 46 times estimated earnings for the next 12 months—no longer makes sense with Xilinx attached. The growth story has been muddied by non-core businesses, this investor says.
Sure enough, AMD shares fell 4% on the deal news.
“I think we’ve given them a lot of information this morning, so there’s a little bit of digestion,” Su told Barron’s right after the announcement.
“We’ve spent the last five years building an execution machine, and that’s not going to change,” Su says when asked about plans to bring Xilinx into the fold.
“We actually don’t need to do this,” she adds. “The base business is going very well, but in this industry you have to think longer-term, and having access to all of this technology capability and market exposure strengthens AMD for the longer term.”
On Thursday, Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) announced that it is buying fiberoptic-component and data-center chip maker Inphi (IPHI) for $10 billion. The cash and stock transaction values Inphi stock at $157.83 a share—a rich 42% premium to Wednesday’s closing price.
Investors weren’t entirely sold on this deal either. Marvell shares fell 3.3% on the day of the announcement. CEO Matt Murphy told Barron’s that the price is justified, given that Inphi is growing sales at 40% a year.
Here, too, scale is a big part of the rationale, but in a different way. While AMD is looking for new markets, Marvell is doubling down on its existing business, which focuses on data-center chips and wireless infrastructure products. Inphi sells complementary products to many of Marvell’s customers, and its sales are expected to grow 87%, to $682.6 million, this year.
“From a financial point of view, this thing has a kick-butt-looking P&L,” Murphy says of Inphi’s profit and loss statement. “It’s got a lot of revenue growth.”
He adds that scale matters for Marvell because it is using more people and more expensive tools and spending more on manufacturing as it moves to smaller transistors.
“The average cost of a semiconductor advanced node project today is at least $100 million, but if you went back 10 or 15 years ago, it was probably around $10 million,” Murphy says.
“The cost of development and the complexity has gone up so much, that you just have to have enough scale,” he says. “If you invest $100 million in making a chip, you had better sell $500 million of that chip to the right people.”
(Reuters) - Chip supplier Marvell Technology Group Ltd on Thursday said it has agreed to buy peer Inphi Corp in a $10 billion cash-and-stock deal aimed at broadening Marvell’s footprint in data centers and 5G network infrastructure.
Marvell competes against Broadcom Inc to supply chips that move data around on copper-based cables. But Inphi designs chips that move data over fiber-optic cables hundreds of times faster than copper cables.
Companies such as Amazon.com, Alphabet Inc’s Google, Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc use Inphi’s chips for optical connections inside the massive data centers that power their online services.
Inphi has also won deals to help Microsoft string together its data centers with high-speed optical connections and to connect various parts of 5G networks.
Data centers and 5G infrastructure “are our two key markets” Marvell Chief Executive Matt Murphy told Reuters in an interview. “They are right in there,” Murphy said of Inphi, “so the fit is really good.”
The deal comes amid a flurry of tie-ups in the semiconductor industry this year. Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Tuesday said it would buy Xilinx Inc in a $35 billion deal, following Nvida Corp’s $40 billion purchase of SoftBank Group Corp’s Arm Ltd and Analog Devices Inc’s $21 billion acquisition of Maxim Integrated Products.
Under the deal, Marvell will give Inphi shareholders $66 in cash and 2.32 shares of stock in the combined company for each share of Inphi. After the deal, Marvell shareholders will own about 83% of the combined company, with Inphi shareholders owning about 17%.
Marvell plans to use balance sheet cash and debt to fund the deal, taking on about $4 billion in new debt in connection with the transaction with financing commitments from JPMorgan Chase & Co.
While Marvell is headquartered in Silicon Valley, it’s currently domiciled in Bermuda. After the transaction, both Marvell and Inphi will become subsidiaries of a new U.S.-domiciled holding company. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2021.
Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell
Yountville, Napa Valley, October 2020 —- Silver Trident Winery is adding a new tasting experience – The Potato Chip Extravaganza. It features five different artisanal potato chips paired with five Silver Trident wines. Winery founder Bob Binder came up with the idea while on a flight back to Napa Valley: “I was on the airplane drinking the standard screw-top mini-bottle of wine and crunching away on some potato chips and I found myself smiling. Hence the idea of the Potato Chip Extravaganza. Enjoying a nice glass of wine, crunching away on some potato chips and smiling. We could all use a bit more of that nowadays.”
The winery’s Potato Chip Extravaganza consists of:
Apollo’s Folly Sonoma Coast Rosé of Pinot Noir paired with Zapp’s Spicy Cajun Crawtators New Orleans Kettle Style Potato Chips: Evoking the image of a
New Orleans crawfish broil feast paired with a perfectly chilled glass of Rosé.
Symphony No. 9 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc with Route 11 Sour Cream & Chives Kettle Cooked Potato Chips: The crunch and creaminess of the chip plays perfectly with the wine’s bright acidity and its touch of mid-palate texture.
Benevolent Dictator Russian River Pinot Noir with Zapp’s Cajun Dill
“Gator-Tators” New Orleans Kettle Style Potato Chips: This pairing goes to 11! The dill, brine and spice flavors of the chip create a savory component that brightens the red fruit core of the wine.
Playing With Fire Napa Valley Red Blend with Zapp’s Voodoo (New Orleans Kettle Style Potato Chips): Two things that you’re not supposed to do: play with fire and/or play with voodoo. This is a dangerously delicious pairing.
Twenty Seven Fathoms Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Kettle Style salted potato chips enveloped in dark chocolate ‘bark.’ Silver Trident and Kollar Chocolates are Yountville neighbors and teamed up to pair world class wines and world class chocolate. The Zapp’s “Regular” New Orleans Kettle Style chip is enveloped in 72% single origin dark chocolate from Venezuelan cacao beans.
The tasting is priced at $40 per guest and reservations are required. A colorful placemat accompanies the pairing flight and acts as a road map to identify all of the essential components. “We wanted to have some fun and put a smile on people’s faces with this new tasting,” winery General Manager Shane Soldinger explains. “We spent time tasting a lot of very tasty and creative potato chips from small producers around the country. Our goal was to focus on the approachability of our wines and to showcase them creatively with a fun and casual presentation,” he commented. The Silver Trident team offers a video which talks the taster through each pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY3O7lUX-OU .
The chips can be enjoyed by guests who are vegan, vegetarian, nut-free, shellfish-free or gluten-free.
The Potato Chip Experience can be enjoyed by the winery’s guests and members at the Napa Valley Tasting Home. For those guests who can’t visit the Napa Valley right now, the Potato Chip Extravaganza can be delivered to their home nationwide, accompanied by a video hosted by winemaker Kari Auringer and the hospitality team, insuring a memorable event. The delivered experience includes enough chips, wines and fun for four tasters and is available for $325 or $295 for wine club members.
Guests can also purchase a 5-ounce bag of the Kollar chocolate potato chip bark for $15/bag.
The winery’s current releases are 2018 Symphony No. 9 Sauvignon Blanc, 2018 Apollo’s Folly Rosé, 2017 Benevolent Dictator Pinot Noir, 2018 Playing with Fire, 2016 Twenty Seven Fathoms Cabernet Sauvignon and 2016 Friends & Family Reserve Cabernet.
Silver Trident Winery is a small production winery whose Yountville Tasting Home is an elegant showroom with décor and furnishings by the Ralph Lauren Home Collection. It is located at 6495 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599 and is open seven days a week 11ish – 6ish.
In compliance with coronavirus protocols, all tastings are now conducted outside and all tastings are by reservation only.
Are you ready for plump, juicy barn raised chicken, hand seasoned with a signature recipe and roasted to perfection? How about twice-cooked chips that are seasoned to perfection? It could be yours! Text CHIPS to 515151 for your chance to win a $250 gift card to Chicken N Chips, on Fletcher Drive in Los Angeles. Message and data rates apply. Entry cutoff is midnight on Sunday night, November 1. Watch the KTLA 5 Morning News on Sunday, November 1 at 10AM for another chance to win. Complete official rules and details below. Good luck!
1. Sponsors.This sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by KTLA (“Station”), 5800 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90028, and Chicken N Chips, 2728 Fletcher Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90039 (“Chicken N Chips”) (collectively, the “Sponsors”).This Sweepstakes is void where taxed, restricted, or prohibited and is subject to all local, state, and federal laws. By entering this Sweepstakes, each entrant accepts and agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor(s), which shall be final and not subject to appeal.
2. Eligibility. No purchase necessary to enter. The Sweepstakes is open to permanent legal U.S. residents who reside within KTLA’s viewing area and who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry. Current or former employees of KTLA, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, the other television and radio stations and multichannel video programming distributors in KTLA’s viewing area, their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising or promotional agencies (including anyone who prepares and/or distributes Sweepstakes materials), and the immediate family members or persons living in the same household (whether related or not) of all the foregoing are not eligible to participate or win. The term “immediate family members” includes spouses, grandparents, parents, siblings, children and grandchildren.
Participants are eligible to win a KTLA contest or sweepstakes only once (1) every 60 days. Only one (1) winner per household is permitted in any contest or sweepstakes. Participants are eligible to win a prize valued at $600.00 or more only once (1) every six (6) months. Text, data, or messaging rates may apply.
3. Entry. This Sweepstakes will accept entries beginning on October 29, 2020 at 7:00:01 p.m. PT and ending on November 1, 2020 at 11:59:59 p.m. PT.
To enter the sweepstakes, there are two methods of entry.
Entrants may use the text messaging feature on their cellular phone to send to a text message to 515151 with only the letters CHIPS in the body of the message. All entrants must have a text messaging two-way capable handset and digital service in order to enter the Contest using the text messaging method. Entrants will be sent a text message to confirm or reject entry into the Contest. Text-Message entries may be subject to fees under the terms of the entrant’s cell-phone/text messaging subscription plan (contact your carrier for pricing plans and details). Text messaging and wireless service are not available in all areas. If any dispute arises as to identity of any entrant, an entrant shall be considered the authorized account holder by the cellular provider. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned a number by the cellular provider or as shown on the cellular provider’s records or the natural person authorized to use the number by an entity that is shown on cellular provider’s records for that number. Only entries to the designated number and containing the correct keyword shall be eligible. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any text message entry at any time which in Sponsor’s opinion does not comply with these Official Rules.
OR
The alternative to entry by text message is to visit www.ktla.com/chips and completing and submitting the entry form. Entrants must include their name, phone number, e-mail address, and date of birth in order to enter. Incomplete entries will not be considered. One (1) entry per person will be accepted, regardless of method.
Sponsor(s) is/are not responsible for technical or computer, telephone service outages, delays, equipment malfunctions, busy signals, hang-ups, errors or data loss of any kind, lost or unavailable connections, or late, lost, failed, illegible, incomplete, garbled or deleted entries, transmissions, or voicemails or other network or technological difficulties that may prevent an individual from completing his/her telephone call or online entry, or for printing errors in any advertisement, entry form, or the rules.
An entrant may use only one email address to submit entries during the Sweepstakes. If an entrant uses multiple email addresses to submit more than one entry per day, the entrant will be disqualified. For entries submitted online, entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. The authorized account holder is the natural person who is assigned to the e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization that is responsible for assigning the e-mail address or the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. Any automated or computer-generated entries, fake or duplicate identities, spam, or improper techniques (as determined by the Sponsor(s)) will be disqualified. Any questions regarding the validity, completeness, or number of entries submitted by an individual or the identity of the authorized account holder of an e-mail address, phone number, or social media profile shall be determined by Sponsor(s) in its/their sole discretion. The Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right to disqualify any entrant who acts in a disruptive, harassing, vulgar, or unsportsmanlike manner, as determined by the Sponsor(s) in its/their sole discretion.
Entry materials that have been tampered with or altered are void. If the Sponsor(s) determine(s), in its/their sole discretion, that there is any suspected or actual tampering with the Sweepstakes (electronic or otherwise) or if technical difficulties (e.g. infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor(s)) compromise the security, fairness, integrity or administration of the Sweepstakes, the Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right to void the entries at issue and/or modify, suspend, cancel or terminate the Sweepstakes and conduct a random drawing to award the prize among all eligible entries received as of the termination date. If the Sweepstakes is terminated due to tampering or technical difficulties prior to its expiration date, notice will be posted online at www.ktla.com/chips. Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right to disqualify any entrant that tampers with the operation of the Sweepstakes or website or violates the Official Rules of the Sweepstakes. Entries not conforming to announced entry specifications will not be acknowledged or returned.
CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND/OR CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO PROSECUTE OR SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
By entering this Sweepstakes online, participants agree to KTLA Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy located at https://ift.tt/1TPFDjc. All entry information becomes the property of the Sponsor(s), and entrants grant the Station the right to distribute all of their entry information to the other Sponsor(s). By entering, entrants grant the Sponsor(s) the right to broadcast and distribute their name, image, likeness, voice, entry materials, and biographical information in any media whatsoever, including on the air on the Station and on www.ktla.com, for any purpose whatsoever, worldwide, in perpetuity, without any further authorization from or compensation to the entrant. The Sponsors reserve the right to reject and disqualify any submissions that do not meet the terms and conditions of these Sweepstakes rules.
4.Odds of Winning. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
5. Prize(s).There will be one (1) winner in this Sweepstakes. On November 2, 2020 the winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Winner will be informed that they won by phone or e-mail. The winner will receive a gift card redeemable for up to $250.00 in food and beverages at Chicken N Chips.
Only one prize will be awarded to the winner.
The approximate retail value of the prize package is $250.00. Entrants can win only once.
The potential winner will be contacted by a representative of the Sponsors and must reply within 48 hours to maintain eligibility. If a potential winner cannot be contacted within this time period or fails to respond to any attempted contact, such potential winner will be disqualified, his/her entry will be declared null and void and the Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to choose another potential winner by the process referred to above.
All results are unofficial until winner(s) is/are verified by the Sponsor(s). Prizes may not be exchanged, substituted, transferred or redeemed for other prizes by winner. Cash will not be awarded as a substitute for prize. Prizes are awarded ‘as is’ with no guarantees or warranties as to use, merchantability, or fitness for a specific purpose, and the Sponsor(s) is/are not responsible for defective prizes. Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right to substitute a prize in their sole discretion without an on-air or off-air announcement, in which case a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded.
6. Conditions for Acceptance of the Prize(s).The winner must claim the prize in-person at the Station, located at 5800 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90028, during regular business hours (Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM PT – 5:00 PM PT), except at Sponsors’ discretion. The prize(s) must be claimed by December 1, 2020 at 12:00:00 p.m. or it/they will be forfeited. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event the State of California establishes or extends the stay-at-home order due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sponsor reserves the right to extend the claim dates and pick-up dates and will provide updates on its website or directly to the winner as necessary. Winner will be required to provide a valid government issued photo identification card and to execute an affidavit of eligibility and publicity and liability release prior to receiving their prize(s). The Station may require the winner’s guests, invitees, or travel companions to sign liability releases prior to receiving the prize. All unclaimed or rejected prizes will be forfeited. Failure by the winner(s) to respond to the Station’s messages, calls, e-mails or other notification will lead to forfeiture of the prize(s). Failure to completely fill out and sign all waivers, releases, or forms requested by the Station will result in forfeiture of the prize(s). The Station then has the right, at its discretion, to award that prize to another winner using the method described above. A winner who forfeits any prize is not eligible to win another contest or sweepstakes conducted by the Station for thirty (30) days.
Payment of all federal, state and local taxes is the sole responsibility of the winner(s) and the winner(s) may receive an IRS 1099 Form or equivalent from the Sponsor(s). The Sponsor(s) will report any individual winnings over $600 (in cash or fair market value of goods or services) in a one year period to the Internal Revenue Service. Winner(s) is/are required to fill out any tax forms requested by the Sponsor(s) in order to receive their prize(s).
Prize is subject to availability, and may be subject to blackout dates. Winner(s) will be solely responsible for any and all gratuities and all other items of an incidental nature. All expenses on receipt and use of prize(s) are the sole responsibility of the winner(s), the Sponsor(s) is/are not responsible for any weather changes, pandemic, epidemic or extenuating circumstances relating to a prize received. The Sponsor(s) is/are not responsible for replacing or reimbursing winners with any form of compensation for events that are delayed or canceled. All delays and cancellations are deemed beyond the control of the Sponsor(s). This includes, but is not limited to, event cancellations, pandemics, stay-at-home orders, trip schedule changes, flight cancellations, changes in travel arrangements, travel delays of any form and duration, game cancellations and delays, as well as all acts of nature. The Sponsor(s) is/are not responsible for any expenses incurred by Sweepstakes winners as a result of such delays or cancellations. Sponsor(s) will not be responsible for failure to supply the prize(s) by reason of any force majeure events, such as acts of God, war, terrorist attacks, unusually severe weather, labor strikes, or other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor(s).
By accepting the prize, the winner or winners agree to have their name, voice, likeness, biographical information, and entry materials used in any advertising or broadcasting material relating to this Sweepstakes, and in any media whatsoever, including the Station and on www.ktla.com, for any purpose whatsoever, worldwide, in perpetuity, without any further authorization or compensation to the winner(s).
7. Social Media. For contests or sweepstakes promoted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, iHeartRadio, or any other social media website (each a “Social Media Site” and collectively the “Social Media Sites”), the Sponsors reserve the right to void any entrant’s entry in the Sweepstakes for failure to abide by the guidelines, policies, or procedures of the applicable Social Media Site, and to delete or remove any of entrant’s related “Likes,” comments, posts, tweets, videos, photos, user generated content, or other electronic messages, communications, or submissions at their discretion. The Sponsors also reserve the right to block, ignore, report, and/or completely prevent any entrant, account, user, or profile from accessing the Sweepstakes and/or the Sponsors’ profile(s), account(s), website(s), blog(s) or handle(s). This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with the Social Media Sites. By entering this Sweepstakes, entrants agree to release and hold the Social Media Sites harmless from any or all claims, liability, damages, judgments, fines, costs, expenses related to or associated with their participation in this Sweepstakes. Entrants understand that by logging-in to the applicable Social Media Site, that they agree to comply with the Social Media Site’s Terms of Service, and that their personal information is subject to the Privacy Policies and information collection practices of the Social Media Site. Entrants agree that the Sponsors are not responsible for the collection, disclosure, transfer, or dissemination of their personal information, whether directly or indirectly, by third party advertisers, marketers, or any other transferees. For entries submitted through the Social Media Sites, the Sponsors may be limited to using the information in a manner set forth by the Social Media Sites and in no other way.
8. Limitation on Liability. Sponsor(s) disclaim(s) all liabilities to the winner(s) with respect to receipt and use of the prize(s). Winners and their guests or travel companions, by acceptance of their prize(s), agree to release and hold the Sponsor(s) and its/their affiliated companies, their advertising, promotion and production agencies, and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, shareholders, directors, employees, agents and representatives harmless from any and all liability, claims, causes of actions, damages, fines, and costs of any kind whatsoever (including reasonable attorney’s fees) which may be sustained directly or indirectly to persons or property in connection with the receipt, ownership or use of the prize or while preparing for, participating in, and/or traveling to any Sweepstakes or prize-related activity.
9. Reservation of Rights. Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right to make changes to these Official Rules in their sole discretion which will become effective upon announcement. Sponsor(s) reserve(s) the right to cancel or terminate this Sweepstakes for any reason in the event that it cannot be run or administered as intended by the Sponsor(s). Any such changes or termination will be announced on KTLA and at www.ktla.com/chips.
10. Contact Information. For questions or more information about this Sweepstakes, please contact KTLA at www.ktla.com/contact. For a copy of these rules, addendum, and/or list of winners please go to www.ktla.com/chips or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to KTLA-TV, “CHICKEN N CHIPS” SWEEPSTAKES #1 OCTOBER 2020, 5800 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90028, within sixty (60) days of the end of this Sweepstakes.
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Yountville, Napa Valley, October 2020 —- Silver Trident Winery is adding a new tasting experience – The Potato Chip Extravaganza. It features five different artisanal potato chips paired with five Silver Trident wines. Winery founder Bob Binder came up with the idea while on a flight back to Napa Valley: “I was on the airplane drinking the standard screw-top mini-bottle of wine and crunching away on some potato chips and I found myself smiling. Hence the idea of the Potato Chip Extravaganza. Enjoying a nice glass of wine, crunching away on some potato chips and smiling. We could all use a bit more of that nowadays.”
