The reported standstill period between Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) and Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) has come to an end. With the end of this period came a definitive agreement between the two companies for Intel to acquire Altera. The goal is for the combined companies to enhance Altera’s products through design and manufacturing improvements based on Intel’s integrated device manufacturing model.

The terms of the agreement broke down to an all-cash transaction with Intel buying Altera at $54 per share. The total value of the transaction is $16.7 billion. The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of both Intel and Altera.

In February, Intel had made moves to acquire Altera with an offering price of what was said to be $58 per share. After that offer, both companies entered into a non-disclosure agreement. At that time, Intel reviewed Altera’s non-public information and then revised its offer to $54 per share.

This new deal comes on the heels of the recently announced acquisition of Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) by Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) that seemingly rekindled merger interest and speculation within the semiconductor segment. This deal was valued at $37 billion and is considered one of the largest tech acquisitions.

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Prior to the end of the standstill pact, Altera shareholders were encouraged by TIG Advisors in early May to vote against board member T. Michael Nevens. TIG Advisors also said that Altera’s board may use the upcoming foundry decision as a poison pill to ward off any attempts by Intel. The firm even went as far to say that the board of directors had failed the shareholders, denying them an immediate value opportunity. It appears that TIG will get what it wants after all.

Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, commented on the acquisition:

With this acquisition, we will harness the power of Moore’s Law to make the next generation of solutions not just better, but able to do more. Whether to enable new growth in the network, large cloud data centers or IoT segments, our customers expect better performance at lower costs. This is the promise of Moore’s Law and it’s the innovation enabled by Intel and Altera joining forces. We look forward to working with the talented team at Altera to deliver this value to our customers and stockholders.

Early Monday, shares of Intel were down about 1% at $34.11, in a 52-week trading range of $27.12 to $37.90. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $34.86.

Altera shares were up 6% at $51.84. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $39.36, and a previous 52-week trading range of $30.47 to $50.10.

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