MACOM

Early history

MACOM was founded in the 1950s as Microwave Associates by the engineers Vessarios Chigas, Louis Roberts, Hugh Wainwright and Richard M. Walker. The company was initially a small supplier of magnetrons to the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The name was changed to M/A-COM in 1978 to reflect the company's growing involvement in the telecommunication industry and the merger with DCC, Digital Communications Corporation. During this timeframe, the company produced low power wideband RF amplifier modules for use in test & measurement. In May 1981, MACOM acquired Ohio Scientific. In the 1990s, MACOM was acquired by AMP Inc., which was in turn acquired by Tyco Electronics.

2000–2010

In 2001, Tyco acquired Com-Net Ericsson and placed the company under the administration of MACOM, as part of the deal, the company acquired the EDACS radio systems team and products and merged them with its own OpenSky resources. The deal also allowed MACOM to become the second largest two-way radio communications manufacturer in the United States. The combined company subsequently developed a P25 radio offering, and has grown its critical communications systems business to be a large player in the modern wireless two-way communications market. In June 2003, XMA Corporation, located in Manchester, New Hampshire, purchased from MACOM the Omni Spectra line of coaxial attenuators and terminations.On May 13, 2008, Tyco Electronics announced that it would sell its RF Components and Subsystem Business to Cobham plc for $425 million. Tyco Electronics retained the wireless communications part of MACOM, but renamed it Tyco Electronics Wireless Systems. On September 29, 2008 Tyco Electronics and Cobham announced the completion of the sale of Tyco Electronics’ M/A-COM Radio Frequency Components and Subsystems business to Cobham plc. Tyco Electronics kept its Wireless Systems business unit, and changed its name from M/A-COM to Tyco Electronics Wireless Systems.

On March 30, 2009, the company acquired all of the outstanding stock of M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc., the primary operating subsidiary of MACOM and the related foreign operating subsidiary, M/ACOM Technology Solutions Limited from Cobham. Cobham plc announced that it had sold M/A-COM's commercial business segment, M/A-COM Technology Solutions, to John Ocampo, the owner of GaAs Labs, on March 31, 2009. In May 2010, MACOM acquired Mimix Broadband, a fabless supplier of GaAs semiconductors.

2011–present

In May 2011, MACOM acquired Optomai Inc. a semiconductor company that developed integrated circuits and modules for 40 and 100-Gbit/s fiber optic networks. The company announced it had reached a deal to purchase Mindspeed Technologies, a network infrastructure semiconductor business in November 2013. In February 2014, the company announced that it had sold Mindspeed's wireless business to Intel Corporation. On February 13, 2014, the company purchased Nitronex LLC, a privately held designer of Gallium nitride semiconductors for $26 million. That same year, MACOM also purchased the RF and microwave company IKE Micro and SiPh services company, Photonic Controls. In November 2014, MACOM reached an agreement to buy BinOptics Corporation, a provider of InP lasers that started at Cornell University, for $230 million. In November 2015, the company announced that it planned to acquire the Japanese optical subassembly supplier, FiBest Limited, before the end of the first quarter in 2016. In December 2015, MACOM acquired Aeroflex's diode business, Aeroflex Metelics from Cobham for $38 million in cash. In January 2017, MACOM acquired Applied Micro Circuits Corporation.