MediaTek on March 16 announced that the company has finalized its merger agreement with Ralink Technology through a share swap of one share for 3.15 shares of Ralink, making MediaTek the surviving entity.

The transaction has been approved by the two companies' boards of directors, and is expected to take effect on October 1, 2011, pending shareholder approval and other regulatory reviews.

In the growing market for wireless connectivity semiconductors, the combined company will offer its customers a complete portfolio of Wi-Fi solutions and other market-leading networking technologies like Bluetooth, GPS, xDSL and Ethernet, MediaTek said.

"We expect Wi-Fi connectivity to continue increasing in popularity in the portable consumer and enterprise electronics industries, as well as the digital home," said MediaTek chairman MK Tsai. "Thus, MediaTek's addressable market in games consoles, media players, tablets and TVs will instantaneously expand with the addition of Ralink's full line of Wi-Fi chips, including fixed, portable and mobile solutions; next generation innovations in technologies like 802.11 ac/ad and VDSL; and world-class customers."

"MediaTek and Ralink have a long history of collaboration in digital consumer products and share a culture of technical innovation. We see great opportunities to leverage the technologies that MediaTek has successfully deployed in wireless communication devices to accelerate the proliferation of connected devices throughout home and work," said Ralink chairman Chris Kao. "Also, MediaTek's strong portfolio of products and channels in handsets, connectivity, and digital home solutions will be greatly augmented by Ralink's wireless LAN and broadband business."