PMC buys Maxim's 12-Gb/s server storage expander line

SAN FRANCISCO—PMC-Sierra Inc. said Wednesday (Feb. 29) it acquired Maxim Integrated Products Inc.'s 12Gb/s serial attached SCSI (SAS) expander technology. The purchase price was not disclosed.

PMC (Sunnyvale, Calif.) said it expects the acquisition to strengthen its SAS design footprint with server OEMs. Combined with PMC's 12Gb/s SAS RAID-on-Chip (RoC) products, Maxim's expander technology enables PMC to offer end-to-end 12Gb/s SAS solutions for server platforms, the company said.

"Our server and storage OEM customers will benefit from a broader 12Gb/s SAS portfolio that includes Maxim’s highly valued feature set and innovations," said Greg Lang, PMC’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Chris Neil, a senior vice president at Maxim, said in a statement that PMC would take over management of Maxim's SAS and PCIe switch IP, know-how and development team allows. Maxim will continue to support the production, delivery and technical support of Maxim’s existing 3G and 6G SAS expanders, signal conditioners, and enclosure and baseboard management controllers," Neil said.

"This arrangement will provide for a smooth transition at our customers," Neil said.

The majority of the personnel employed from Maxim are located in Colorado Springs, Colo., the companies said.