Infineon Technologies 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 $1.4 billion.
WLS, a provider of cellular platforms to top tier global phone makers, will operate as a standalone business serving its existing customers, and 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 said to be 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 of energy efficiency, mobility and security.
Intel says its 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’ 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 says it 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 solutions, including ARM-based products as well as Intel-based application processor platforms with 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.