DOJ slaps restraining order on Microsemi

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday ordered Microsemi and its executives to freeze any activities aimed at selling, dismantling, or otherwise impairing the assets of the chipmaker it recently purchased.

The chipmaker, Semicoa, is at the heart of an antitrust lawsuit the DOJ filed against Microsemi last week.

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Semicoa and Microsemi are the only two makers of certain signal transistors used in spacecraft, missiles, and other equipment vital to the security of the United States, the DOJ said in the suit.

Now that the DOJ has filed the antitrust lawsuit against Microsemi, the agency added the temporary restraining order on Monday to ensure Semicoa's production facilities, research labs, and other assets are not torn down, sold off, or otherwise impaired by Microsemi.

Ultimately, the DOJ hopes to reverse Microsemi's acquisition of Semicoa, which closed in July of this year. The acquisition has led to an increase in price of the signal transistors sold to the government agencies, increases that the DOJ feels will likely continue.