coverage, increase our engineering workforce, expand our technical skill sets or enhance our technological capabilities. We may not be able to find businesses that have the technology or resources we need and, if we find such businesses, we may not be able to invest in, purchase or license the technology or resources on commercially favorable terms or at all. Acquisitions, investments and technology licenses are challenging to complete for a number of reasons, including difficulties in identifying potential targets, the cost of potential transactions, competition among prospective buyers and licensees, the need for regulatory approvals, and difficulties related to integration efforts. In addition, investments in companies are subject to a risk of a partial or total loss of our investment. Both in the U.S. and abroad, governmental regulation of acquisitions, including antitrust and other regulatory reviews and approvals, has become more complex, increasing the costs and risks of undertaking and consummating significant acquisitions. In order to finance a potential transaction, we may need to raise additional funds by issuing securities or borrowing money. We may not be able to obtain financing on favorable terms, and the sale of our stock may result in the dilution of our existing shareholders or the issuance of securities with rights that are superior to the rights of our common shareholders. 

Acquisitions also involve a number of challenges and risks, including: 

• diversion of management’s attention in connection with both negotiating the transaction and integrating the acquired assets and businesses; 

• difficulty or delay integrating acquired technologies, operations, systems and infrastructure, and personnel with our existing businesses; 

• strain on managerial and operational resources as management tries to oversee larger or more complex operations; 

• the future funding requirements for acquired companies, including research and development costs, employee compensation and benefits, and operating expenses, which may be significant; 

• servicing significant debt that may be incurred in connection with acquisitions; 

• potential loss of key employees; 

• exposure to unforeseen liabilities or regulatory compliance issues of acquired companies; 

• higher than expected or unexpected costs relating to or associated with an acquisition and integration of assets and businesses; 

• difficulty realizing expected cost savings, operating synergies and growth prospects of an acquisition in a timely manner or at all; and 

• increased risk of costly and time-consuming legal proceedings. 

If we are unable to successfully address these risks, we may not realize some or all of the expected benefits of our acquisitions, which may have an adverse effect on our business strategy, plans and operating results. 

We rely on supplies, services and manufacturing capacity located in geologically unstable areas, which could affect our ability to produce products. 

We, like many companies in the semiconductor industry, rely on supplies, services, internal manufacturing capacity, wafer fabrication foundries and other subcontractors in geologically unstable locations around the world. Earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding or other natural disasters may disrupt local semiconductor-related businesses and adversely affect manufacturing capacity, availability and cost of key raw materials, utilities and equipment, and availability of key services, including transport of our products worldwide. Our insurance may not adequately cover losses resulting from such disruptions. Any prolonged inability to utilize one of our manufacturing facilities, or those of our subcontractors or third-party wafer fabrication foundries, as a result of fire, flood, natural disaster, unavailability of utilities or otherwise, could result in a temporary or permanent loss of customers for affected products, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. 

Our operating results are dependent on the performance of independent distributors. 

A significant portion of our sales are through independent global and regional distributors that are not under our control. These independent distributors generally represent product lines offered by several companies and thus could reduce their sales efforts for our products or they could terminate their representation of us. We generally do not require letters of credit from our distributors, including our largest distributor, and are not protected against accounts receivable default or declarations of bankruptcy by these distributors. Our inability to collect open accounts receivable could adversely affect our operating results. Termination of a significant distributor or a group of distributors, whether at our initiative or the distributor’s initiative or through consolidation in the distribution industry, could disrupt our current business, and if we are unable to find suitable replacements with the appropriate scale and resources, our operating results could be adversely affected. 

