Intel completes $70 million deal with Zarlink Semiconductors

Intel completes $70 million deal with Zarlink Semiconductors

SANTA CLARA, Calif.- American computer chip giant Intel Corporation announced today that it had decided to acquire the UK-based, Radio Frequency (RF) Front-End Consumer Business of Zarlink Semiconductor Limited in a deal worth $68 million in cash and $2 million in assets.

This deal adds further bite to Intel's digital home initiative as Zarlink manufactures products that convert analog broadcast, cable and satellite television signals into digital ones, which is where the chipmaker comes in. Commenting on the deal Glenda Dorchak, vice-president of Intel's digital home group said, "The transition to digital products across the entertainment and consumer electronics industries is accompanied by changes in the underlying technology and delivery infrastructure."

Intel will use this acquisition to shore up its digital offerings and integrate this into consumer electronics devices like the set-top boxes and media recorders. The main components of Zarlink's products are demodulation and tuner technologies. These two are vital to the functioning of consumer electronic devices, "The addition of this technology and expertise complements Intel's consumer electronics roadmap and development plans," observed Dorchak.

More Info

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based Company has already acquired Israeli semiconductor maker Oplus Technologies earlier this year and these products would be integrated with the Zarlink technology to further Intel's ambitious digital home initiative.

Kirk Mandy, president and CEO of Zarlink was elated on concluding the deal, "Our RF front-end consumer business will prosper as part of a company that has the scale and critical mass necessary to succeed in the consumer electronics marketplace," he said in a statement. In the backdrop of the Intel deal, Zarlink stock soared by more than 15 percent. The deal is expected to be formally finalized in the second half of November.