Chip maker Atmel acquires Newport Media for US$140m

7 Jul 2014

Atmel Corporation is to acquire Newport Media, a provider of low-power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth equipment, for US$140m in cash.

Atmel said the motivation behind the acquisition of Newport was to provide the industry’s most complete portfolio of smart devices for the internet of things.

The purchase price is subject to working capital adjustments, plus an additional earn-out of up to US$30m to be paid subject to achievement of future revenue thresholds over two years. 

Atmel is targeting a broad spectrum of applications, including industrial, home and building automation, and consumer products requiring smaller form factors and longer battery life.

“This acquisition immediately adds 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to our offerings and will accelerate our introduction of low-energy Bluetooth products,” said Steve Laub, Atmel’s president and CEO.

“Combined with our existing Wi-Fi and Zigbee solutions and industry-leading microcontroller portfolio, Atmel is positioned for substantial growth in the internet of things marketplace.”

Wireless image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com