Intel to Acquire Infineon’s Wireless Solutions Business
Neubiberg, Germany and Santa Clara, Calif. – August 30, 2010, CEST (August 29, U.S. PDT) – Infineon Technologies AG and Intel Corporation have entered into a definitive agreement to transfer Infineon’s Wireless Solutions (WLS) business to Intel in a cash transaction valued at approximately US Dollar 1.4 billion.
- Intel to purchase Infineon’s Wireless Solutions Business, called WLS, in a
cash transaction valued at approximately US Dollar 1.4 billion. The deal is
expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.
- WLS sale is a strategic decision for Infineon to expand leading position
in markets for automotive, industry and security technologies.
- WLS will operate as a standalone business. Intel is committed to serving
WLS’ existing customers, including support for ARM-based platforms.
- The acquisition expands Intel’s current WiFi and 4G WiMAX offerings to
include Infineon’s 3G capabilities and supports Intel’s plans to accelerate
LTE. The acquired technology will be used in Intel® Core™ processor-based
laptops, and myriad of Intel® Atom™ processor-based devices, including
smartphones, netbooks, tablets and embedded computers.
- The deal aligns with Internet connectivity pillar of Intel’s computing
strategy.
WLS, a leading provider of cellular platforms to top tier global phone makers,
will operate as a standalone business serving its existing customers. WLS will
also contribute to Intel’s strategy to make connected computing ubiquitous from
smartphones to laptops to embedded computing.
“The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an
extraordinary rate,” said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. “The
acquisition of Infineon’s WLS business strengthens the second pillar of our
computing strategy - Internet connectivity - and enables us to offer a portfolio
of products that covers the full range of wireless options from WiFi and 3G to
WiMAX and LTE. As more devices compute and connect to the Internet, we are
committed to making certain that Intel is well positioned to take advantage of
the growth potential in every computing segment, from laptops to handhelds.”
“The sale of WLS is a strategic decision to enhance Infineon’s value. We can
now fully concentrate our resources towards strong growth in our core segments
Automotive (ATV), Industrial & Multimarket (IMM) and Chip Card & Security (CCS).
This creates a great perspective for all Infineon customers, employees and
shareholders,” said Peter Bauer, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. “We all stand
to benefit enormously from this deal. Thanks to the outstanding effort of the
employees and the management during the last years, WLS is excellently
positioned to grow further with the new owner who is ideally suited for this
business.”
The WLS transaction is a strategic decision for Intel and Infineon. WLS
complements Intel’s existing assets and enables growth in mobile computing,
smartphones and embedded computing. Infineon will benefit from this by stronger
addressing three central challenges to modern society – energy efficiency,
mobility and security.
Intel’s goal is to expand its mobile and embedded product offerings to
support additional customers and market segments, including smartphones, tablets,
netbooks, notebooks and embedded computing devices. Through this effort, Intel
will pair WLS’ best-in-class cellular technology with its core strengths to
enable the delivery of low-power, Intel-based platforms that combine its
applications processor with an expanded portfolio of wireless options – bringing
together Intel’s leadership in WiFi and WiMAX with WLS’ leadership in 2G and 3G,
and a combined path to accelerate 4G LTE.
Intel expects WLS to continue growing, and remaining a standalone business to
ensure continuity of existing customer sales, projects and support. The business
will continue to support its customers with the best solutions possible,
including ARM-based products as well as Intel-based application processor
platforms with leading-edge 3G slim modem solutions.
WLS today holds leading positions in the field of wireless mobility and
cellular platforms for smart phones and ultra-low-cost, entry phones. WLS
provides baseband processors, radio-frequency transceivers, power management
integrated circuits (ICs), additional connectivity features, single-chip
solutions as well as the corresponding system software. This helps to enable the
smooth transmission of voice and high-speed data from the backbone of the
telecommunication network to the end user’s device. With annual revenue of Euro
917 million, WLS was approximately 30 percent of Infineon’s total annual revenue
of Euro 3.03 billion in the past financial year.
The board of directors of Intel and the supervisory board and the management
board of Infineon have approved the transaction. It is expected to close in the
first quarter of 2011, subject to certain regulatory approvals and other
customary closing conditions specified in the definitive agreement.
Infineon Technologies AG
Intel
201009280126.9.2010Company infoINTEL