CSR snaps up Zoran in deal worth £420m
BRITISH chipmaker CSR has agreed to buy US-listed Zoran Corporation in an all-share deal to add imaging and video to its wi-fi, bluetooth and GPS location technologies.
CSR’s chief executive Joep van Beurden said the $679m (£420m) deal would enable CSR to target the growing number of devices that combine imaging and video with wireless and location services.
The combined group, whose customers include Sony and Samsung, will work to optimise their technologies before creating single chips with multiple services in about 18 to 24 months, he said.
Shareholders in Zoran, which also has operations in Israel, will receive 1.85 CSR shares for each Zoran share, implying a 40 per cent premium to Zoran’s closing price on Friday.
Zoran had $260m of cash, CSR said, of which it would return up to $240m to shareholders in a share buyback. Van Beurden said the combined group had pro-forma revenue of about $1.25bn.