TDK reportedly offered $12 a share for InvenSense according to Reuters. The report added that the companies hope to conclude negotiations by the end of the year.
InvenSense announced that it hired a financial advisor to evaluate indications of interest in the company in November.
InvenSense is a relative newcomer to the MEMS sensor scene but rose quickly to gain design wins with smartphone companies such as Apple and Samsung and to go public in 2011. It competes against Bosch Sensortec and STMicroelectronics in consumer electronics applications.
TDK, which started out as a maker of magnetic tape, is a significant supplier of electronic components into smartphones having bought German passive components supplier Epcos AG in 2008. In December 2015 TDK moved to acquire German chip company Micronas for about $200 million and in 2016 agreed to acquire French MEMS manufacturer Tronics Microsystems SA for about €48 million euros ($51 million).