ANADIGICS, Inc. (ANAD)

ANADIGICS, Inc. designed and manufactured radio frequency integrated circuits built on gallium arsenide and related compound semiconductor processes. Its main products were power amplifiers and front-end modules used in mobile phones, tablets, Wi-Fi equipment, small-cell base stations and cable television and broadband infrastructure. The company ran its own wafer fabrication facility in Warren, New Jersey, which set it apart from many fabless chip suppliers that depended on outside foundries.

Founded in 1985, ANADIGICS went public on NASDAQ in the mid-1990s and grew with the spread of cellular handsets. Demand for its amplifiers rose sharply in the 3G and early 4G eras, when it supplied major handset and data-card makers. The business was, however, concentrated in a handful of large customers, and design wins and losses at those customers caused large swings in revenue and in the share price.

In the early 2010s the company lost share in handset power amplifiers to larger rivals that offered integrated multi-band modules. Revenue declined for several years, losses mounted and the stock fell to below one dollar. Management tried to pivot toward infrastructure, Wi-Fi and cable products, but the smaller revenue base made it difficult to cover the fixed cost of operating an in-house fab.

In November 2015 ANADIGICS agreed to be bought by GaAs Labs for $0.35 per share. II-VI Incorporated then entered with competing offers, and after several rounds of bidding II-VI won with $0.85 per share in cash. The deal closed on March 15, 2016 and the shares were removed from NASDAQ. II-VI later combined with Coherent and now operates as Coherent Corp.