Intel has announced its second major acquisition in as many weeks, unveiling a $1.4 billion takeover of Infineon’s wireless business.
The deal, announced Monday, is Intel’s latest attempt to move away from its reliance on PC and server chips.
This time the acquisition of Infineon’s WLS unit, which makes cellular baseband chips for Apple and other handset-makers, gives the semiconductor leader a stronger position in the expanding device market.
Although Intel’s Atom chips are popular for low-price PCs and netbooks, they have not been adopted by leading mobile phone manufacturers.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini said the new business “enables us to offer a portfolio of products that covers the full range of wireless options from Wi-Fi and 3G to Wimax and LTE,” he said.
WLS would help Intel open up new device markets, including smartphones, netbooks, tablets and embedded computers, and rounds out the connectivity technologies it can offer, he said.
“As more devices compute and connect to the internet, we are committed to positioning Intel to take advantage of the growth,” Otellini said.