Japan's Renesas in talks to buy chipmaker Maxim in deal worth up to $20 billion - CNBC

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese automotive chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp is in talks to acquire U.S. chipmaker Maxim Integrated Products Inc in a deal that could be valued up to $20 billion, CNBC reported.

A deal is not imminent and one may not happen, CNBC said. (http://cnb.cx/2nrkjIe)

A spokesman at Renesas declined to confirm or deny the report, saying the company continues to explore various options for growth but that nothing had been decided.

Maxim was not immediately available for comment.

Shares in the San Jose, California-based company ended up 12.3 percent at $66.27 on the Nasdaq on Monday after the report.

In 2016, Renesas beat out rival suitor Maxim in a deal to buy U.S. chipmaker Intersil Corp for $3.2 billion, an all-cash deal that bolstered the Japanese group's efforts to refocus the company around automotive chips.

Renesas, created from the semiconductor units of several Japanese companies, has amassed a significant war chest since a state fund and key clients bailed it out after the Fukushima earthquake in 2011.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in BENGALURU, Kentaro Hamada in TOKYO; Editing by Himani Sarkar)