ARM Drives Momentum In Microcontrollers With Keil Acquisition

CAMBRIDGE, UK – Oct. 28, 2005 - ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq:ARMHY)], today announced it has acquired Keil, a leading independent provider of software development tools for the microcontroller (MCU) market.  Keil operates jointly through two privately-owned companies, Keil Elektronik GmbH in Munich, Germany, and Keil Software, Inc. in Plano, Texas; and has combined gross assets valued at $4.6 million. 

“ARM identified the MCU market as a critical growth area for our future business and with this acquisition, we will be able to accelerate progress in that market by offering a  more complete, more compelling solution,” said Warren East, CEO, ARM.  “As the MCU applications shift from 8/16-bit to 32-bit solutions, the combination of the ARM® Cortex™-M3 processor, which was specifically designed for microcontroller applications, our RealView® high-performance compiler, and Keil’s complementary MCU tools for ARM, will enable  new generations of ARM MCU solutions.”

The 23-person company manufactures and distributes a broad range of development tools including ANSI C compilers, macro assemblers, debuggers, linkers, library managers, firmware and real-time kernels.  Currently there are more than 100,000 microcontroller developers using this industry-proven solution

“Keil and ARM have a long-standing relationship through our membership of the ARM Connected Community,” said Reinhard Keil, CEO, Keil.  “We feel that with this acquisition we are in a better position to deliver complete offerings to the high-growth, 32-bit microcontroller market while continuing to support our 8051 and C16x compilers within the uVision environment.”

About ARM

ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s 16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, peripherals, software and tools, combined with the company’s broad Partner community, provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.