TI Expands High-Performance Analog Portfolio with Acquisition of Chipcon, a Leading Supplier of RF Transceiver and System-on-Chip Devices

-- Texas Instruments (TI) Incorporated (NYSE:  TXN) announced today that it will acquire Chipcon, a leading company in the design of short-range, low-power wireless RF (radio frequency) transceiver devices.  Combining Chipcon’s design experience in RF transceiver and System-on-Chip devices with TI's advanced analog silicon technologies and broad systems expertise will enhance TI’s ability to offer customers complete short-range wireless solutions for consumer, home and building automation applications.  The acquisition also broadens TI’s offering of RF solutions and strengthens TI’s position in ZigBee™, a global standard for wireless monitoring and control applications.  TI agreed to pay approximately $200 million for Chipcon.  The transaction is expected to be complete in January 2006.  (See www.ti.com/chipcon-pr.)
     
“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. 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,” said Gregg Lowe, Senior Vice President for TI’s High Performance Analog division.
     
Geir Forre, Chipcon President and CEO said, "I am very excited about the synergies of the two companies. TI’s leadership as a supplier of high-performance analog and ultra-low-power microcontrollers opens new opportunities for Chipcon’s low-power wireless product portfolio.  In addition, Chipcon will benefit from TI’s leading-edge manufacturing, process and packaging technology."
     
With a combination of standards-based and proprietary products, Chipcon radio technology can be found in consumer applications like wireless keyboards and gaming accessories, as well as in security systems and automatic meter reading systems in the home and building automation market. Chipcon’s CC2430 is the world's first true System-on-Chip ZigBee solution.  Chipcon also provides customers with the industry-leading ZigBee-compliant protocol stack, the Z-Stack, which was acquired when Chipcon purchased Figure 8 Wireless in January 2005.  Thus Chipcon offers a true One-Stop-Shop ZigBee solution.  Chipcon’s proprietary RadioDeskTM technology platform supplies turnkey solutions to wireless input device manufacturers. 
     
Chipcon’s CEO, Geir Forre, will lead TI’s group integrating short-range wireless personnel and products from both Chipcon and TI.  Geir and the short-range wireless team will report to Art George, Vice President of TI’s High Performance Linear group.  Chipcon will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of TI and will continue to operate from its Oslo, Norway headquarters.  Its other facilities include a software design center in San Diego, California; and sales offices in New Hampshire, Germany, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The company employs about 120 people.

Click here to view the TI and Chipcon Q&A

About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers' real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company's businesses include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries. Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at www.ti.com.
     
About Chipcon AS
Chipcon is a leading international semiconductor company that designs, produces and markets high-performance radio frequency integrated circuits (RF-ICs) for use in a variety of wireless applications in the 300 to 1000 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands.  Chipcon targets both consumer electronics and home and building automation end markets and has strong positions both in proprietary and standards-based radio technologies. Chipcon Group ASA is the parent company and holding company that controls the activities of its wholly-owned subsidiaries Chipcon AS and Chipcon Inc. Chipcon's products are distributed worldwide and are represented at 55 locations in 31 countries.  For more information, visit Chipcon’s Web site at www.chipcon.com.