Intel to buy Infineon’s chip business for $1.4 billion

Intel, the world leader in silicon technology, today said that it will pay $1.4 billion in cash for Wireless Solutions (WLS), a unit of German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG.

WLS is a leading provider of cellular platforms to top tier global mobile handset makers and makes chips used in PC's, laptops, netbooks and smartphones, including the Apple iPhone, Nokia and Samsung.

WLS holds leading positions in the field of wireless mobility and cellular platforms for smart phones and ultra-low-cost, entry phones. WLS provides baseband processors, radio-frequency transceivers, power management integrated circuits (ICs), additional connectivity features, single-chip solutions as well as the corresponding system software.

Its products help to enable the smooth transmission of voice and high-speed data from the backbone of the telecommunication network to the end user's device.

With annual revenue of €917 million, WLS generated approximately 30 per cent of Infineon's total annual revenue of €3.03 billion in 2009.

The acquisition will help Intel, the world's largest chip maker to expand its mobile and embedded product offerings to smartphones, tablets, netbooks, notebooks and embedded computing devices.