There used to be a time some 35 years ago when a company called Zilog was respected for being the cool kid on the block. What hath 35 years wrought?

Power semiconductor and mixed-signal company Ixys Corp. has offered to buy Zilog Inc.for $62.4 million in cash, a deal expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2010.

The combination of the two companies will allow Ixys to leverage analog power management with digital control, said Ixys.

Sign of the times.

"As the world migrates toward SoCs, Zilog's core microcontroller technology along with Ixys' core power solutions create entirely new products that will meet the needs for today and tomorrow," said Federico Faggin, chairman and co-founder of Zilog, in a statement issued by Ixys.

I remember Federico Faggin well. He was one of a handful of executives whose hand I shook when I was whisked thru Silicon Valley some 33 years ago when EE Times was just starting to cover the industry. I was impressed for another reason. The Z80 technical manual was one of the first ones I made use of in the industry as a logistics/test engineer. It was a "cool" engineering handbook to have by your side.

It came from a company founded by Faggin after he led the design of the first microprocessor at Intel—the 4004. Zilog became the first company solely dedicated to microprocessors. Intel was more into memories at the time.

"With the expected rebound in MCU sales in 2010, we anticipate a growth in opportunities for refined power control in many applications; the acquisition and integration of this MCU business will strengthen our position and allow us to take advantage of these opportunities,"said Nathan Zommer, CEO and founder of Ixys.

Let's hope Zommer is correct. New SoC designs is what this recessionary period is waiting for.