(Reuters) - Intel Corp (>> Intel Corporation) agreed to buy Altera Corp (>> Altera Corporation) for $16.7 billion as the world's biggest chipmaker seeks to make up for slowing demand from the PC industry by expanding its line-up of higher-margin chips used in data centers.

Demand for cheaper chips and new products to power Internet-connected gadgets is driving consolidation in the semiconductor industry.

Worldwide semiconductor M&A reached $31 billion last year, the most since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters data. In the 12 months through March 2, 472 chip M&A deals were made worldwide, up from 383 in the previous year.

The following is a list of the largest semiconductor deals in the United States since December 2013:

Date Company Target Deal value Rationale Link to story

announced

May 28 Avago Broadcom Corp $37 To improve

Technologies  (>> Broadcom Corporation) billion bargaining

Ltd (>> Avago Technologies Ltd) position with

manufacturers

May 7 Microchip Micrel Inc Equity To expand

Technology Inc  (>> Micrel, Incorporated) value of offerings in

 (>> Microchip Technology Inc.) $839 automotive and

million communications

markets

March 1 NXP Freescale $11.8 Makes company

Semiconductors Semiconductor billion the industry

NV (>> NXP Semiconductors NV) Ltd (>> Freescale Semiconductor Ltd) leader within

auto and

industrial chip

markets

Feb. 25 Avago Emulex Corp About $606 To boost server

Technologies million storage

Ltd (>> Avago Technologies Ltd) business with

Emulex's

network

connectivity

business

Jan. 27 Lattice Silicon Image About $600 To gain

Semiconductor Inc million technology that

Corp (>> Lattice Semiconductor) connects

smartphones and

tablets to TVs

and digital

projectors

Dec. 1, Cypress Spansion Inc $1.59 To boost

2014 Semiconductor billion microcontroller

Corp (>> Cypress Semiconductor Corporation) chips and flash

memory products

offerings

Oct. 15, Qualcomm Inc CSR Plc (>> CSR plc) $2.5 To boost its

2014  (>> QUALCOMM, Inc.) billion Bluetooth

offerings

Sept. 26, Intel Corp 20 pct stake in As much as To catch up in

2014  (>> Intel Corporation) two Chinese $1.5 a smartphone

mobile billion chip industry

chipmakers dominated by

rival Qualcomm

Aug. 22, Murata Remaining stake $465 To strengthen

2014 Manufacturing in Peregrine million its radio

Co Ltd Semiconductor frequency chip

 (>> Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) business

Aug. 20, Infineon International About $3 Deal

2014 Technologies Rectifier billion complements its

AG (>> Infineon Technologies AG) high-powered

chips with

International

Rectifier's

low-power,

energy-efficien

t chips

June 10, Synaptics Inc Renesas SP $475 To buy the then

2014  (>> Synaptics, Incorporated) Drivers Inc million sole supplier

of display

chips for Apple

iPhones

June 9, Analog Devices Hittite $2 billion To boost its

2014 Inc (>> Analog Devices, Inc.) Microwave Corp radio frequency

and signal chip

offerings

April 29, Cirrus Logic Wolfson $489 To boost its

2014 Inc (>> Cirrus Logic, Inc.) Microelectronics million audio

Plc technology

offerings

Feb. 24, RF Micro TriQuint About $1.6 To capture a (http://reut.rs/1G3Hrmp)

2014 Devices Inc Semiconductor billion larger share of

Inc the smartphone

chip market

Dec. 16, Avago LSI Corp $6.6 To enter (http://reut.rs/1G3Hrmp)

2013 Technologies billion storage chip

Ltd (>> Avago Technologies Ltd) market to

counter

volatility in

its main

wireless

business

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Sai Sachin R in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)