Taiwan's fabless chipmaker MediaTek has inked a definitive agreement to acquire the assets related to the Analog Devices Othello radio and SoftFone baseband chipset product lines, as well as cellular handset baseband support operations, for about $350 million in cash. As per the company's fiscal 2006 financial results, these product lines represented approximately $230 million in revenue.

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Through this acquisition, MediaTek's wireless handset division gains a global team of about 400 product development and customer support professionals, an established customer base around the world, and new radio transceiver and baseband chipset products, including GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, and TD-SCDMA chipsets, to strengthen its portfolio. Plus, it will get key patents and intellectual property to increase its competitiveness.

Meanwhile, ADI plans to continue to invest in the wireless handset market by focusing on developing high-performance analog, micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS), and programmable digital signal processing (DSP) products that enhance the audio, video, connectivity, and power efficiency capabilities in a range of wireless multimedia devices. According to Jerald G. Fishman, ADI's president and CEO, “This transaction will allow ADI to focus our resources in areas where our signal processing expertise can provide unique capabilities and earn superior returns. In addition, it unlocks the value of the Othello and SoftFone operations by creating the scale needed to support the R&D investment required for sustainable, long-term success.”

For more information, visit www.analog.com and www.mtk.com.tw/