Structural Analysis of Patent Portfolio Reconfiguration Following Mergers and Acquisitions in System Semiconductor Companies

Abstract

This study comparatively examined the restructuring and management of patent portfolios following mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the system semiconductor industry, focusing on Broadcom and Marvell. Patent data were organized at the firm × source-set level and evaluated using the Relative Index (RII), which measures the relative position of a firm against the average value within the same source set. Patent portfolio performance was analyzed across three dimensions: legal robustness, technological influence, and economic value. In addition, changes in patent portfolio indicators were compared with business performance indicators, including revenue, AI/data-center revenue, and adjusted EBITDA margin. The results revealed distinct post-M&A portfolio structures between the two firms. Broadcom exhibited a high-impact–high-blocking– high-value portfolio structure, characterized by strong technological influence, high Platform-based Blocking RII, and high economic value. Following the acquisitions of LSI and VMware, increases in portfolio scale, technological influence, blocking capability, and economic value were accompanied by positive changes in AI/data-center revenue and profitability indicators. In contrast, Marvell showed substantial improvements in portfolio scale and technological influence after acquiring Inphi and Innovium. However, its Integrated Economic Value RII was 0.87 in the matched-source baseline comparison, indicating a position below the set mean and a more selective, domain-focused expansion pattern. The findings suggest that post-M&A patent portfolio outcomes are associated not merely with the quantity of patents but with the configuration of technological influence, blocking capability, and economic value. Broadcom demonstrated a portfolio structure in which these dimensions were simultaneously strengthened, whereas Marvell displayed a strategy centered on technological specialization and growth in specific domains.