Texas Instruments said Wednesday it will spend about $200 million in cash to buy Chipcon, an acquisition that will boost TI’s expertise in designing short-range wireless chips for consumer electronics and security systems.
said Wednesday it will spend about $200 million in cash to buy Chipcon, an acquisition that will boost TI’s expertise in designing short-range wireless chips for consumer electronics and security systems.
TI expects to complete the acquisition by January. TI shares rose $0.23 to $32.07 after the news.
Chipcon, based in Oslo, Norway, develops chips for receiving and transmitting short-range radio frequencies. The company’s products are in keyboards, gaming accessories, security systems, and meter-reading equipment.
Four Seasons Venture, Firstnordic Norge Vekst, and Terra Vekst are outside investors of the company.
“The addition of Chipcon’s technical capabilities and leading RF [radio frequency] integrated circuits will complement TI’s existing low-power wireless product line,” said Gregg Lowe, a senior vice president of TI. The company already makes chips for other wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi.
The radio frequency technology used by Chipcon is based on a technical standard called ZigBee. ZigBee is set by an international body that also approves standards for Wi-Fi and other technologies.
Low-Power Alternative
ZigBee supporters tout the technology as a low-power alternative to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in transmitting information between gadgets. But because ZigBee is slower and works at a shorter range than other wireless technologies, it’s currently aimed at the home or industrial automation market.
For example, ZigBee chips could be built into various appliances and parts of the house so that a homeowner could remotely control the lighting, heating/cooling, and security systems and monitor gas and electricity use.
Chipcon, founded in 1996, generated $29.4 million in revenue in 2004, up 66 percent from $16.2 million in 2003. Its net income declined by 5 percent to reach $600,000 last year.