Following a shock move to acquire security vendor McAfee earlier this month, Intel today announced an altogether more expected move, purchasing Infineon’s Wireless Solutions Business for a reported $1.4 billion in cash. The acquision, heavily rumoured over the weekend, enhances Intel’s presence in the booming mobile device market, adding 3G capabilities to the company’s existing Wi-Fi and 4G WiMAX offerings across smartphones, tablets, netbooks, notebooks and embedded computing devices.
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 Wi-Fi and 3G to WiMAX and LTE. As more devices compute and connect to the Internet, we are committed to positioning Intel to take advantage of the growth potential in every computing segment, from laptops to handhelds and beyond.”
Intel will run Infineon as a separate business unit, and according to the company, remain committed to the company’s portfolio of ARM-based product lines, alongside Intel’s own solutions. The two companies will work together to accelerate 4G LTE offerings.
Both boards of directors have approved the deal, which is expected to go through in the first quarter of 2011, subject to regulatory approval.
