Analog’s $21 Billion Maxim Acquisition Draws Investor Lawsuit

A former Maxim Integrated Products Inc. shareholder filed suit in Delaware, claiming its $21 billion sale to Analog Devices Inc. wrongly suspended $500 million in dividends—to hedge against an “illusory” tax risk—in an effort to pressure investors into swiftly approving the deal.

The lawsuit, made public Tuesday, targets Analog and former Maxim board members. It accuses them of pausing Maxim dividends between signing and closing—effectively transferring them to the post-closing company and diluting the transaction’s value—in a “last-minute quid pro quo.”

The “highly unusual” deal term was supposedly justified by unlikely tax risks involving “intercompany” dividends, but neither Analog nor ...