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TI to Buy Chipcon to Add to RF Line: Norwegian Company Focuses on Low-Power Wireless Technology

Posted on: Thursday, 22 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By Terry Maxon, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Morning News

Dec. 22--Texas Instruments Inc. said Wednesday that it will buy a Norwegian company that designs short-range, low-power wireless technology.

Dallas-based TI said its $200 million deal to acquire Chipcon AS should close in January.

Chipcon specializes in radio frequency transceiver technology that lets devices communicate with each other without requiring much power, which extends battery life.

TI says the acquisition will strengthen its position in Zigbee, an emerging wireless standard.

Zigbee proponents tout such possibilities as smoke alarms that communicate with each other, in-ground sensors that can tell a water sprinkler system when the roots are getting dry or remote controls that "talk" to stereo and video components and program them to recognize each other.

Its biggest market probably will be in sensor and control devices that don't need to transmit a lot of data, don't need a great deal of speed in transmission and can spend most of the time sleeping.

Zigbee isn't intended to replace home Wi-Fi wireless systems, which require constant power and can transmit data at high speeds, or the short-range wireless technologies ultrawideband and Bluetooth.

"As our customers incorporate more short-range wireless technology into their designs, it is increasingly important for TI to offer a robust range of RF transceiver options," said Gregg Lowe, senior vice president for TI's high performance analog division.

"The addition of Chipcon's technical capabilities and leading RF integrated circuits will complement TI's existing low-power wireless product line and strengthen our high-performance analog portfolio," he said.

TI said Chipcon will become a wholly owned TI subsidiary and will maintain its Oslo headquarters and software design center in San Diego.

Sales offices in New Hampshire, Germany, Hong Kong and Tokyo also will be retained.

The company employs about 120 people and reported 2004 revenue of nearly $29.5 million and net income of $628,322.

TI shares climbed 23 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at $32.07.

E-mail tmaxon@dallasnews.com

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Source: The Dallas Morning News

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