SiliconBeat

Zilog’s chief executive sent a letter to Universal Electronics (UEI), which has made an
unsolicited bid buy the maker of computer chips for toasters and automobiles for $4.50 a share on Jan. 11, telling the would-be buyer that it needs a few more days to evaluate the offer, according to an SEC filing Thursday.

The offer is being made in collaboration with Zilog’s fourth largest shareholder, the
ubiquitous (at least in Silicon Valley) Bryant Riley, who controls 1.1 million Zilog shares,
or 6.7 percent.

The take-it-or-leave-it offer was originally set to expire Jan. 21 but the deadline was extended to Jan. 29. However, even that may be too soon. “As we discussed on the phone we are carefully evaluating your proposal with the assistance of our financial and legal advisors,” wrote Darin Billerbeck to Universal Electronics CEO Paul Arling. “We do not anticipate being in a position to respond to your offer prior to February 1, 2008. Unless we hear otherwise from you, we will assume that your offer will continue in full force and effect until 5 P.M.” that day.

Shares of Zilog, which has had multiple lives as a public company, hit a 52-week high of $6.08 in May but ended the year down 20 percent. The day before the offer was revealed on Jan. 18, Zilog shares closed at $2.69. They rose 61 cents, or 23 percent, on the news to $3.30 and closed at $3.83 today.

That’s a 67 cent per-share profit for the arbitrage bettors among you, should the deal go through.