CSR buys GPS chipmaker SiRF for $136m
updated 04:30 pm EST, Wed February 11, 2009
CSR buys SiRF for $136M
England's Bluetooth chip group CSR on Tuesday announced it is buying California-based GPS chip specialistSiRF for $136 million. The deal is expected to complete in the second quarter, after approval by SiRF and CSR shareholders as well as government approval. The buy-out sum represents a 91-percent premium on SiRF's shares after Monday's markets closed.
After completion, SiRF shareholders will own about 27 percent of the new, larger CSR group. The CSR Board will also be joined by SiRF's Diosdado Banatao as Non-Executive Director and Kanwar Chadha as Executive Director. With the acquisition, CSR is expecting $35 million in costs synergies in a year's time, giving it access to chips capable of providing location information.
CSR estimates 40 percent of all mobile devices will have some sort of GPS functionality by 2012. SiRF chips are currently used in automobile, personal, cell phones, computers and MIDs with navigation or location-based services. Garmin, TomTom and others use the mapping chipsets in dedicated GPS units, while smartphones from companies such as Palm also rely on the technology.
