Broadcom Corp. announced it will acquire Athena Semiconductors Inc. for $21.6 million in cash. Athena makes chips for Wi-Fi and mobile TV technologies. Broadcom’s stock was down slightly after the news to around $46.71 per share.
“Mobile television is a very exciting technology, and we expect that by combining Athena’s DVB-H tuner with Broadcom’s mobile multimedia technology for H.264 decoding, we will create the core of an industry-leading mobile digital TV chipset,” said Robert Rango, senior vice president and general manager for Broadcom’s Mobile & Wireless group. “In addition, Athena brings low-power Wi-Fi design capabilities and a seasoned engineering team with a proven track record whose expertise complements Broadcom’s existing engineering resources.”
Broadcom has been working to flesh out its offerings for mobile-phone makers. Indeed, the company last year acquired W-CDMA chipmaker Zyray Wireless for $96 million. The company today offers products for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Voice over Internet Protocol and second- and third-generation wireless technologies.
