Product category: Communications ICs (Wireless)
News Release from: Broadcom Corp
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 10 October 2005
Broadcom to acquire Athena
Broadcom Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Athena Semiconductors
Athena is a fabless semiconductor company that specialises in the design and development of mobile digital television tuner and low-power Wi-Fi technology - two markets of interest to Broadcom. Industry analysts expect the market for low-power Wi-Fi chips to reach more than 104 million units per year by 2008, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 121%, and mobile digital TV tuner chips should reach 81 million units by 2010, a CAGR of 205% over 5 years.
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 10 October 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Mobile digital television (including DVB-H) and low power Wi-Fi technologies continue to be adopted by handset providers at an accelerating rate.
Both technologies complement Broadcom's existing mobile and wireless product portfolio, which includes mobile multimedia (including audio, video and 3G graphics), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, VoIP and 2G/3G cellular baseband solutions.
DVB-H allows mobile handset users to view real time transmissions of news, weather, sports, and other video content.
DVB-H services are in field trials around the world today.
Historically, Wi-Fi chipsets have served the PC notebook and home networking market segments, neither of which is particularly power sensitive.
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In the future, Broadcom expects a new generation of Wi-Fi technology to be included in a range of mobile devices, including cellular handsets, personal media players and handheld video games, for which prolonged battery life is a primary design consideration.
Embedded Wi-Fi technology will enable these products with faster Internet services and real time peer-to-peer connectivity.
Low-power Wi-Fi devices, when combined with VoIP technology, will also provide a 'voice over Wi-Fi' solution.
This will enable both a new class of smart cordless phones (Wi-Fi phones) and 'One-Phones', which combine the functionality of a Wi-Fi phone and a cellular phone into a single handset.
'Mobile television is a very exciting technology, and we expect that by combining Athena's DVB-H tuner with Broadcom's mobile multimedia technology for H.264 decoding, we will create the core of an industry-leading mobile digital TV chipset', said Robert Rango, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Mobile and Wireless Group.
'In addition, Athena brings low-power Wi-Fi design capabilities and a seasoned engineering team with a proven track record whose expertise complements Broadcom's existing engineering resources'.
Broadcom is a leading supplier of chips and system solutions for various wireless markets, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 2G and 3G cellular basebands.
Cellular handsets that feature advanced multimedia capabilities can also take advantage of Broadcom's mobile multimedia processor technology, which enables new levels of clarity and power savings for mobile video applications.
With a broad portfolio of wireless solutions and strong market positions in several of these segments, Broadcom is uniquely suited to provide all the pieces required by developers of next generation mobile devices.
'Athena's DVB-H technology complements Broadcom's mobile multimedia product line and our Wi-Fi experience will enable faster time to market for key low-power Wi-Fi chips', said Pratap G Reddy, President, Chief Operating Officer and cofounder of Athena Semiconductors.
'We are looking forward to the opportunity to combine our resources with those of the existing Broadcom team to drive these key products to market'.
Athena Semiconductors is headquartered in Fremont, California with highly experienced design teams in Bangalore, India and Athens, Greece.
The group in India consists of 40 engineers, and the team in Greece consists of 23 engineers.
The addition of the India team to Broadcom's workforce represents a key step in achieving the company's continuing goal of expanding its presence in India.
In connection with the acquisition, Broadcom expects to pay approximately $21.6 million in cash in exchange for all outstanding shares of Athena capital stock and other rights of Athena.
A portion of the consideration payable to the stockholders of Athena will be placed into escrow pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement.
The boards of directors of both companies have approved the merger.
The merger transaction is expected to close during Broadcom's fourth fiscal quarter, which ends on 31st December.
At closing, Broadcom may record a one-time charge for purchased in-process research and development expenses in its fourth fiscal quarter.
The amount of that charge, if any, has not yet been determined.
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