Lattice Semiconductor

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation is an American manufacturer of high-performance programmable logic devices (FPGAs, CPLDs, & SPLDs).[2] The company has more than 700 employees and an annual revenue of more than $400 million as of 2019.[1] In 2011, the Oregon-based company was ranked third among the world's makers of field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices[3] and second for CPLDs & SPLDs.[4] Founded in 1983, the company went public in 1989 and is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol LSCC.

Lattice Semiconductor
TypePublic
NASDAQ: LSCC
Russell 2000 Component
IndustrySemiconductors
Founded1983, public since 1989
HeadquartersPortland, Oregon,
United States
45.527216°N 122.926626°W / 45.527216; -122.926626
Key people
Jim Anderson, CEO
ProductsFPGAs, CPLDs
Revenue US$404 million (2019)[1]
$43.5 million (2019)[1]
Number of employees
747 (2019, full-time)[1]
Websitewww.latticesemi.com

History

Lattice was founded on April 3, 1983, by C. Norman Winningstad, Rahul Sud, and Ray Capece,[5] with investment from Winningstad, Harry Merlo, Tom Moyer, and John Piacentini.[5] Lattice was incorporated in Oregon in 1983 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1985. Co-founder Sud left as president in December 1986, and Winningstad left in 1991 as chairman of the board.[5] Early struggles led to chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in July 1987.[5] The company emerged from bankruptcy after 62 days and moved from its headquarters in an unincorporated area near Beaverton to a smaller building in Hillsboro, Oregon.[6] Over the next year, the company shrank from 140 to 64 employees but posted record revenues.[7]

Cyrus Tsui became the company's chief executive officer in 1988.[8] On November 9, 1989, Lattice became a publicly traded company when its shares were listed on the NASDAQ after in initial public offering.[9] The initial share price was $6, and raised almost $14 million for the company.[9] In July 1990, a second stock offering of nearly 1.5 million new shares raised $22.6 million at $16.25 per share.[10]

In 1995, the company attempted to assert trademark rights in the term Silicon Forest beyond the use of its trademark for the use in semiconductor devices.[11] They had registered the mark in 1985, but later conceded they could not prevent the usage of the term as a noun.[11] Forbes ranked the company as their 162nd best small company in the United States in 1996,[12] and Lattice began to double the size of its Hillsboro headquarters.[8]

In 2000, annual revenues topped $560 million with profits of $160 million.[13] Its stock price reached an all-time high of $41.34, adjusted for splits.[13] For the next five years, however, the company recorded no annual profit.

Lattice purchased Agere Corporation's FPGA division in 2002.[14] In 2004, the company settled charges with the United States government that it had illegally exported certain technologies to China, paying a fine of $560,000.[15] In 2005, Tsui was replaced as CEO by Steve Skaggs in 2005[14] and the company laid off employees for the first time.[14] In fiscal year 2006, Lattice posted a profit of $3.1 million on revenues of $245.5 million, the first annual profit since 2000.[16]

In June 2008, Bruno Guilmart was named as chief executive officer of the company, replacing Steve Skaggs.[17] For fiscal year 2008, Lattice had a loss of $32 million on annual revenues of $222.3 million.[18] In 2009, the company began moving all of its warehouse operations for parts from Oregon to Singapore.[19] Through July 2009, the company had lost money for ten straight quarters,[20] and had its first profitable quarter in three years during the fourth quarter of 2009.[21] Bruno Guilmart left the company in August 2010, and Darin Billerbeck, former Zilog CEO, who had just sold Zilog in the previous year, was named the new CEO in October of that year, starting in November.[22] The company reported 2011 revenue of $318 million.[23] For the first quarter of 2012 Lattice reported revenue of $71.7 million.[24] Lattice reported revenue of $70.8 million for the second quarter of 2012.[25] Lattice started a stock buy-back program in 2010 that continued into 2012 that would total about $35 million if fully implemented.[26]

On December 9, 2011, Lattice announced it was acquiring SiliconBlue for $63.2 million in cash.[27][28][29] Lattice announced in July 2012 a foundry agreement with United Microelectronics Corporation. In October 2012, the company announced third quarter revenue of $70.9 million and restructuring that included job lay-offs.[30] Lattice returned to profitability in 2013 with a profit of $22.3 million on $332.5 million in revenues.[31] The company acquired Silicon Image Inc. for $606 million in March 2015[32] and moved company headquarters to Downtown Portland.[33]

In April 2016, Tsinghua Holdings said in a U.S. filing that it accumulated a roughly 6 percent stake in Lattice Semiconductor through share purchased on the open market.[34] In November, 2016, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners announced a definitive agreement to acquire all of Lattice's shares.[35] The purchase of Lattice by Canyon Bridge was in September 2017 blocked by US President Donald Trump based on the recommendation of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on national security grounds under the Exon–Florio Amendment.[36][37][38][39] The company re-located its headquarters back to its Hillsboro campus in 2019.[40]

Activist investor Lion Point Capital purchased a six percent stake in Lattice in February 2018.[41] The next month the company filled three new seats on its board with independent directors supported by Lion Point.[42] That same year, Lattice replaced several members of its leadership team, including bringing in a new president and CEO, Jim Anderson, who previously worked at Advanced Micro Devices.[43] Under the new leadership, Lattice shifted the company's focus entirely to low-power field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).[44]

Operations
Former company headquarters in Hillsboro, Oregon

Lattice manufactures field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),[44] programmable mixed-signal and interconnect products, related software and intellectual property (IP).[45] Lattice's main products are the ECP and Certus-NX series of general purpose FPGAs,[46] CrossLink FPGAs for video bridging and processing,[47] iCE FPGAs for low-power applications,[48] and MachXO FPGAs for control and security.[49][50] Products are used in a variety of end uses, such as flat-panel televisions and laptops.[17]

The company is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, in the high-tech area known as the Silicon Forest.[51] The company employs more than 700 people worldwide as of 2019.[1] Jim Anderson is Lattice's chief executive officer and president.[52][53] Its chief competitors are Xilinx, Altera and Microsemi (previously Actel.)[54]

See also

References
  1. "FY2019 Form 10K". EDGAR. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. Ken Cheung, EDA Geek. "Lattice Semiconductor Unveils ispLEVER Classic v1.2 Design Tool Suite Archived 2015-06-06 at the Wayback Machine." August 25, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  3. FPGA Developer, July 15, 2011 List and comparison of FPGA companies
  4. Baldwin, Howard (June 22, 2006). "Dynamic Duo Still Dominate Programmable Logic". Movers and Shakers 2006. EDN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  5. Colby, Richard (April 3, 1991). "Co-founder of Lattice steps down". The Oregonian. p. C8.
  6. "Lattice eyes new location". The Oregonian. October 9, 1987. pp. E14.
  7. Colby, Richard (April 1, 1988). "Lattice profit yields final pay to creditors". The Oregonian. pp. E7.
  8. Hill, Jim (October 12, 1996). "All systems go for Lattice on big expansion in Hillsboro". The Oregonian. p. B1.
  9. "Lattice stock brings company cash flow". November 10, 1989. pp. E10.
  10. "Lattice finishes stock offering". The Oregonian. July 24, 1990. pp. C13.
  11. Francis, Mike (December 3, 1995). "Who owns 'Silicon Forest'?". The Oregonian. p. G1.
  12. "The Bottom Line Briefcase: Forbes ranks six of region's small firms among nation's best". The Oregonian. October 24, 1996. pp. B1.
  13. Earnshaw, Aliza (January 24, 2008). "Lattice's 2007 sales and earnings slide". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  14. Earnshaw, Aliza (August 18, 2006). "Lattice hopes good news isn't fleeting". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  15. "Lattice Semiconductor Settles Charges of Illegal Exports to China". U.S. Department of Commerce. September 13, 2004. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  16. Earnshaw, Aliza (January 25, 2007). "Lattice: First annual profits since 2000". High Tech - Semiconductors. Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  17. Earnshaw, Aliza (November 14, 2008). "Lattice CEO focuses on the bottom line". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  18. Njus, Elliot (August 6, 2010). "Chief executive who helmed turnaround at Lattice Semiconductor resigns". The Oregonian. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  19. "Lattice to eliminate 64 jobs". Portland Business Journal. July 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  20. Rogoway, Mike (July 23, 2009). "Lattice posts 10th straight quarterly loss, plans job cuts". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  21. Rogoway, Mike (January 28, 2010). "Lattice Semiconductor back in the black during fourth quarter". The Oregonian. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  22. Rogoway, Mike (October 12, 2010). "Lattice Semi names Intel vet its new CEO". The Oregonian. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  23. Njus, Elliot. "Lattice Semiconductor posts higher fourth quarter, 2011 earnings amid lower demand". The Oregonian. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  24. Rogoway, Mike (April 19, 2012). "Lattice Semi slips into the red as sales fall 13 percent in first quarter". The Oregonian. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  25. Rogoway, Mike (July 19, 2012). Lattice Semiconductor reports lower quarterly results The Oregonian.
  26. Siemers, Erik (February 29, 2012). "Lattice to repurchase up to $20 million in stock". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  27. Mike Rogoway, The Oregonian. "As sales slide, Lattice Semiconductor pays $62 million for Silicon Valley mobile chip company." Dec 9, 2011. Retrieved Dec 19, 2012.
  28. Maxfield, Clive, Programmable Logic DesignLine, December 9, 2011 OMG! Lattice Semiconductor to acquire SiliconBlue!
  29. Morris, Kevin, EE Journal, Silicon Symbiosis-Lattice Acquires SiliconBlue, December 13, 2011 Silicon Symbiosis
  30. Siemers, Eric, Portland Business Journal, October 18, 2012 Lattice Semiconductor to cut 109 jobs, 30 in Hillsboro
  31. Rogoway, Mike (February 6, 2014). "Lattice Semiconductor extends rebound with unexpectedly strong quarter". The Oregonian. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  32. Giegerich, Andy (March 10, 2015). "Lattice closes deal on $606M purchase". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  33. Rogoway, Mike (May 7, 2015). "Lattice Semiconductor cuts jobs following $600 million acquisition". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  34. By Eva Dou and Robert McMillan, Wall Street Journal. "China’s Tsinghua Unigroup Buys Small Stake in U.S. Chip Maker Lattice." April 14, 2016. May 4, 2016.
  35. "Lattice Semiconductor to be Acquired by Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, Inc. for $1.3 Billion" (PDF). Palo Alto, CA: Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, Inc. 2016-11-03. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  36. Fiegerman, Seth; Wattles, Jackie (September 13, 2017). "Trump stops China-backed takeover of U.S. chip maker". CNN. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  37. Office of the Press Secretary (September 13, 2017). "Administrative order on the Order Regarding the Proposed Acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation by China Venture Capital Fund Corporation Limited". whitehouse.gov. Washington, D.C.: White House. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  38. "Order Regarding the Proposed Acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation by China Venture Capital Fund Corporation Limited". Federal Register. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. September 13, 2017. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017. Alt URL
  39. Dye, Jessica (September 13, 2017). "Trump bars China-backed bid for semiconductor company". Financial Times. London: The Nikkei. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  40. Spencer, Malia (Mar 7, 2019). "Lattice Semiconductor is on the rebound. Here's a look at its tiny chips". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  41. Spencer, Malia (5 February 2018). "Activist investor buys 6% stake in Lattice Semiconductor". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  42. Spencer, Malia (7 March 2018). "Lattice strikes deal with activist investor, expands board". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  43. Spencer, Malia (7 March 2019). "How Lattice Semiconductor survived a scuttled $1.3B deal, a powerful activist investor and big changes at the top". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  44. Kanaval, Stephen L. (16 January 2020). "Lattice Semiconductor: Strong Growth Under New Management". Equities News. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  45. Clive Maxfield, EE Times. "Lattice enhances its wireless base station portfolio." Jun 23, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  46. Ward-Foxton, Sally (24 June 2020). "Lattice Reinvents General-Purpose FPGA Offering". EE Times. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  47. Ward-Foxton, Sally (30 September 2019). "Instant-On Video Bridge Affirms Lattice Refocus". EE Times. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
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  50. Morris, Kevin (30 May 2019). "Edge FPGAs for Security and AI". EEJournal. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  51. Brian Chappatta, Bloomberg Businessweek. "Silicon Forest Baseball Wager Penalizes Oregon City: Muni Credit." Sep 25, 2012. Retrieved Dec 21, 2012.
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  53. Suzanne Stevens, Portland Business Journal. "Lattice hires Darin Billerbeck as CEO." Oct 12, 2010. Retrieved Dec 19, 2012.
  54. John Edwards (June 1, 2006). "No room for Second Place Archived 2012-05-15 at the Wayback Machine." EDN. Retrieved May 10, 2012.

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