Microsemi Buys Unit of Narda Microwave

Continuing its drive to build a major presence in the portable telecommunications market, Microsemi Corp. has acquired the semiconductor operations of Narda Microwave for $5 million in cash.

It is Microsemi’s second major purchase of a telecommunications components maker this year.

“If we come to the market with just one or two parts [to sell], we aren’t much, but if we have a handful of parts, we can be an important supplier to original-equipment manufacturers,” said Philip Frey Jr., Microsemi’s chairman and chief executive.

He said the purchase of the Lowell, Mass., semiconductor plant won’t affect Microsemi’s Orange County operations or employment. The new unit, which had about $10 million in sales last year, has 40 employees, Frey said.

Microsemi, headquartered in Santa Ana, already has an East Coast presence with microwave component plants in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Microsemi’s stock was unaffected by the announcement Monday, closing unchanged at $9.38 in light Nasdaq trading.