ARM completed its acquisition of Artisan Components on December 23, 2004, bringing Artisan’s physical-design intellectual property into ARM’s system-on-chip portfolio. The deal’s ownership story later changed for one defined part of that portfolio: Arm sold Artisan’s foundation-IP business to Cadence in 2025.
When did ARM complete the Artisan acquisition?
ARM and Artisan announced their definitive acquisition agreement on August 23, 2004. The merger became effective on December 23, 2004, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, after shareholder approvals. ARM’s completion announcement valued the merger consideration at $36.32 per Artisan share.
How much did ARM pay for Artisan?
The announced consideration averaged $9.60 in cash plus 4.41 ARM American depositary shares (ADSs) for each Artisan share. ARM and Artisan described the aggregate value as approximately $913 million, based on reference prices used when the deal was announced. The $36.32-per-share figure was the value stated at completion; these figures refer to different points in the transaction, not separate cash payments.
The terms filed with the SEC allowed Artisan shareholders to elect cash, ARM ADSs, ordinary shares, or combinations of them, subject to proration. The announced average package therefore should not be read as a guarantee that each shareholder received precisely that mix.
#1 Best Overall
- High-performance foundation line, ARM Cortex-M4 core with DSP and FPU, 512 Kbytes Flash, 180 MHz CPU, ART Accelerator, Dual QSPI
- On-board ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer with SWD connector
- Can be powered from USB
- Three LEDs, Two Push-buttons
- Support of wide choice of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) including IAR, ARM Keil, GCC-based IDEs
What did Artisan add to ARM?
ARM was known for processor and system IP; Artisan contributed physical-design IP used in implementing system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The strategic aim was to offer a broader set of complementary SoC building blocks and combine the companies’ sales channels. The announcement described the rationale with the heading “ARM AND ARTISAN COMBINE TO DELIVER SYSTEM-ON-CHIP IP SOLUTIONS” and called the transaction “One of the Broadest Suppliers of IP in the Industry.”
Who owns Artisan IP now?
Ownership depends on which Artisan assets are meant. Arm’s 2004 acquisition brought Artisan into ARM, but Arm later sold the Artisan foundation-IP business to Cadence. According to Arm’s filing in 2026, that sale closed on August 26, 2025, for aggregate consideration of $128.5 million. The business sold included standard-cell libraries, memory compilers, and general-purpose I/Os.
Rank #2
- Ultra-low-power with FPU ARM Cortex-M4 MCU 80 MHz with 1 Mbyte Flash, LCD, USB OTG, DFSDM
- On-board ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer with SWD connector
- Can be powered from USB
- Three LEDs, Two Push-buttons
- Support of wide choice of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) including IAR, ARM Keil, GCC-based IDEs
That sale establishes Cadence’s ownership of the defined foundation-IP business. It does not mean the 2004 corporate acquisition was reversed, nor does the filing establish that every asset historically associated with Artisan was included in the sale.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- STM32F103C8T6 ARM STM32 minimum system development module.
- ST-Link V2 support the full range of STM32 SWD interface debugging, simple interface (including power supply), 4 line speed, stable work.
- Use the current smart phones of Mirco USB interface, easy to use, USB communication and power supply can be done.
- The board lead to all the I/O resources.Download with SWD debug interface, which requires a minimum of 3 wires to complete debug a download task
Rank #4
- Mainstream Mixed signals MCUs ARM Cortex-M4 core with DSP and FPU, 512 Kbytes Flash, 72 MHz CPU, MPU, CCM, 12-bit ADC 5 MSPS, PGA, comparators
- On-board ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer with SWD connector
- Can be powered from USB.
- Three LEDs, Two Push-buttons
- Support of wide choice of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) including IAR, ARM Keil, GCC-based IDEs
Rank #3
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