Vitesse Agrees to Buy Multilink Technology

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp., which makes chips used in telecommunications gear, agreed to acquire Multilink Technology Corp. in a transaction Vitesse valued at about $22.9 million.

Each Multilink share will be exchanged for 0.5493 of a Vitesse common share, Vitesse said. The agreement values each Multilink share at $2.98, a 23% premium to Multilink’s $2.42 closing share price Friday. Vitesse said it would pay about 4.2 million shares of its stock.

Somerset, N.J.-based Multilink designs and develops integrated circuits and other products that enable high-speed optical networking systems to operate more efficiently.

Shares of Camarillo-based Vitesse fell 35 cents to $5.07 on Nasdaq. Multilink shares rose as high as $2.60 in after-hours trading, after closing at $2.45, up 3 cents during regular Nasdaq trading.