Intel agreed to acquire certain consumer electronics digital broadcast technology assets from Zarlink Semiconductor for approximately US$68 million in cash and US$2 million in other consideration.
The deal includes Zarlink’s UK-based, Radio Frequency (RF) Front-End Consumer Business, which provides silicon demodulation and tuner devices to the satellite, terrestrial and cable market segments.
Zarlink’s RF Front-End Consumer Business, headquartered in Swindon, United Kingdom, generated fiscal 2005 revenues of US$53 million as part of the US$75 million reported by Zarlink’s Consumer Communications segment.
“The transition to digital products across the entertainment and CE industries is accompanied by changes in the underlying technology and delivery infrastructure,” said Glenda Dorchak, vice president, Digital Home Group and general manager, Consumer Electronics Group, Intel. “Demodulation and tuner technologies are two key ingredients in this infrastructure and play an increasingly critical role in a broad range of CE devices. The addition of this technology and expertise complements Intel’s CE roadmap and development plans.”http://www.intel.com
http://www.zarlink.com
- In August 2005, Intel outlined its plans to power consumer electronics devices such as plasma TVs and personal media players. Specifically, Intel plans to introduce “Oplus” MN301, a “system-on-a-chip” multimedia display processor for flat panel displays. Production-ready reference designs for dual-channel HDTV are now available. The Oplus MN301 display processor and the Oplus Image Perfecting Engine were developed by Oplus Technologies, Ltd., the Israeli subsidiary of Oplus Technologies, Inc., and a company Intel acquired in April 2005.
At the time, Intel also said it will begin marketing digital home entertainment systems in 2006 under a new “Viiv” (rhymes with “five”) consumer brand. PCs based on Intel Viiv technology will be powered by a suite of Intel technologies, including a dual-core processor, chipset, platform software and wired networking capabilities.