FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Anglo-German chip developer Dialog Semiconductor is still open to acquisitions after breaking off talks with Synaptics, Chief Executive Jalal Bagherli said on Thursday.
Any deal would likely be smaller than would have been the case with Synaptics, a $1.6 billion (£1.2 billion) specialist in touchpad technology, and Dialog would look to focus on its strengths in consumer products and the Internet of Things (IoT).
"We are not looking to jump miles away from where we are good at," Bagherli told analysts on a call after Dialog reported a 16 percent rise in second-quarter revenues and guided for flat gross margins in 2018 as a whole.
Dialog shares traded 4 percent lower after his comments.
Dialog, which counts Apple as its top customer, is trying to diversify its business, ramping up products used in low-energy bluetooth headsets, wearable devices and smart homes.
The iPhone maker opted in May to source power management chips (PMICs) from two suppliers - depriving Dialog of an exclusive deal.
Despite the Apple setback, Bagherli said Dialog was still pitching for and winning business from the U.S. smartphone maker.
"The relationship is very healthy," he said. "All other products are up for grabs and we are grabbing a good share."
Commenting further on the Synaptics talks, Bagherli said they had not gone beyond the due-diligence stage and there had been no contractual negotiations.
"In any acquisition of this size there's a lot of factors to get right," he said. "We didn't feel that the right set of parameters were coming together to create value for our shareholders."
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Maria Sheahan)
