Freescale announced that it will acquire SigmaTel for $3 per share, a hefty premium to it’s typical $1.60 level, but a far cry from it’s peak of $44.70 back in 2005. That makes the value of the deal approximately $110M, which is just about how much SigmaTel has left in the bank. If this company is selling for the value of its cash, then the purchase price puts absolutely no value on the company and it’s operations. The deal is subject to shareholder approval, which could be interesting. Shareholders would basically be approving the lock-in of their losses. Many would probably rather take their chances with current management, or pray that something better turns up during the “go shop” time frame which ends March 4th.

SigmaTel is a provider of key components to the iPod and rode a huge waves of sales, around $345M in 2005. As their biggest customer (Apple) shopped around for parts, the company had no other meaningful revenue. At one time it was one of the fastest growing startups in Austin.