Synaptics has officially signed the paperwork needed to acquire Broadcom’s wireless IoT business. The deal is worth roughly $250 million, which will be paid entirely in cash.
Broadcom’s wireless IoT portfolio currently includes a range of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS/GNSS products. Synaptics will acquire the manufacturing rights to those products, and to certain other aspects of the company’s IoT business. It will also acquire advanced process nodes that could lead to future IoT devices.
Synaptics believes that the deal will accelerate its IoT business and enhance its standing as a manufacturer of consumer IoT products. The company has indicated that its annual sales will immediately jump $65 million thanks to the acquisition, and that the potential revenue growth could be even more dramatic moving forward.
“Expanding our offering in the high growth IoT market has been one of the major focus areas for Synaptics and the addition of best-in-class wireless connectivity technology to our portfolio significantly enhances our overall position,” said Synaptics President and CEO Michael Hurlston. “This acquisition complements Synaptics’ ability to sell a broad range of devices such as IP cameras, smart displays, speakers, and gaming consoles, all of which require cutting-edge technologies including Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 and GPS L5.”
Hurlston joined Synaptics in August, though his career includes a prior stop at Broadcom, where he served as the VP and General Manager of the company’s Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division. New Synaptics CFO Dean Butler also worked at Broadcom during Hurlston’s tenure.
While the definitive agreements have been signed, Synaptics does not expect the deal to close until the first fiscal quarter of 2021, assuming that the usual closing conditions are met. The company does not anticipate any financing hurdles, and will pay with cash on hand.
Synaptics recently became the latest member of Amazon’s Voice Interoperability Initiative, agreeing to provide wake word expertise to make products with multiple voice services more user friendly.
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