Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has agreed to buy AuthenTec Inc. (NASDAQ: AUTH) in a deal valued at about $356 million. That comes to $8.00 per share, compared to $5.07 at Thursday’s close.
AuthenTec produces fingerprint sensor chips and security software for mobile phones. The Melbourne, Fla.-based company has annual revenue of about $70 million. Lenovo Group Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd. and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) are among its customers.
It’s worth noting that earlier this month, AuthenTec closed a deal with Samsung Electronics Co. that would put its QuickSec VPN security into new Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android-based smartphones and tablets. Apple and Samsung have a long-running disupte over patents as they fight for marketshare in the competitive mobile devices space.
Shares of AuthenTec are now trading near $8.25, leading some to speculate that investors are willing to bet Apple could face a competing bid.
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