Alpha Industries Inc

The industry may be struggling, but two communications chip makers are forging ahead with plans to create the largest provider of semiconductors for cellular and other mobile telephones. The merger of the wireless division of Conexant Systems Inc. in Newport Beach, already the leading maker of power amplifier chips, and Alpha Industries Inc. in Woburn, Mass., is expected to close in mid-June. The new company, named Skyworks Solutions Inc.

The industry may be struggling, but two communications chip makers are forging ahead with plans to create the largest provider of semiconductors for cellular and other mobile telephones. The merger of the wireless division of Conexant Systems Inc. in Newport Beach, already the leading maker of power amplifier chips, and Alpha Industries Inc. in Woburn, Mass., is expected to close in mid-June. The new company, named Skyworks Solutions Inc.

Conexant Systems Inc. said Monday that it will spin off its wireless communications business and merge it with rival Alpha Industries Inc. in a stock swap to create one of the largest makers of communications chips for cellular telephones. The combined company, as yet unnamed, would initially have about 4,000 employees and $600 million in annual sales, or about 12% of a fragmented wireless market.

Conexant Systems Inc. said Monday that it will spin off its wireless communications business and merge it with rival Alpha Industries Inc. in a stock swap to create one of the largest makers of communications chips for cellular telephones. The combined company, as yet unnamed, would initially have about 4,000 employees and $600 million in annual sales, or about 12% of a fragmented wireless market.

Alpha Industries Inc., Woburn, Mass., said George S. Kariotis resigned as chief executive to campaign as Republican candidate for governor of Massachusetts. Kariotis will continue as chairman. Martin J. Reid, president and chief operating officer, was named acting chief executive.

Shares in wireless chip maker Skyworks Solutions Inc. plunged on their first day of trading under a new name following predecessor company Alpha Industries Inc.'s acquisition of Conexant Systems Inc.'s wireless chip business. Skyworks shares, which ranked high among the market's percentage-loss leaders, ended down $1.32, or 20.9%, at $4.99, while Conexant Systems rose 14 cents, or 14.7%, to $1.09. Both trade on Nasdaq.

A New Jersey software company sued Conexant Systems Inc. and Alpha Industries Inc. to block them from naming their merged wireless semiconductor company Skyworks Solutions Inc. Skyworks Technologies Inc., a closely held developer of Web promotional games, alleges in a federal trademark infringement suit filed in Santa Ana that the companies are stealing its name. Alpha, based in Woburn, Mass.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. will be the name of the wireless semiconductor company being created by the merger of Alpha Industries Inc. and the wireless division of Conexant Systems Inc., the companies said Tuesday. Skyworks, with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, will be the industry's largest one-stop shop for the world's wireless telephone makers, with $600 million in annual sales and 12% of the fragmented market.

Conexant Systems Inc. said Wednesday that it will receive $140 million in early payments on loans made to a wireless telephone unit it had spun off into a merger last spring. Shares of the Newport Beach communications chip developer rose 22%. Conexant, which has seen its stock plummet even as it improved sales over the last year, said it should get the money immediately from wireless chip maker Skyworks Solutions Inc. Skyworks, based in Woburn, Mass.

A New Jersey software company has sued Conexant Systems Inc. and Alpha Industries Inc. to block them from naming their merged wireless semiconductor company Skyworks Solutions Inc. Skyworks Technologies Inc., a closely held developer of Web promotional games, contends in a federal trademark-infringement suit filed in Santa Ana that the companies are stealing its name. Alpha, based in Woburn, Mass.

Battered by industrywide price pressures, write-offs and falling demand, Verizon Communications Inc. posted a $2-billion second-quarter loss Wednesday and lowered its full-year revenue and profit targets. But in a potent sign of how bad things have become among telecommunications companies, Verizon's stock shot up on the news, adding $2.80, or more than 9%, to close at $33 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of fellow local phone companies SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp.

AT&T Corp. agreed to sell its cable television business to Comcast Corp. for $52 billion, creating a cable giant double the size of its biggest rival, AOL Time Warner Inc. With 22 million subscribers, the new company, AT&T Comcast Corp., would reach one of four pay television households. The deal would put AT&T well on the way to completing the corporate breakup announced 13 months ago by its chairman and chief executive, C. Michael Armstrong.