NXP is buying Marvell’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless connectivity business assets for $1.76 billion, in a move that NXP says will boost its ability to offer turnkey offerings in its target IoT, automotive and industrial markets, as well as in communication infrastructure.
NXP will add about 550 employees around the world in the transaction. Richard Clemmer, CEO of NXP, described the acquisition as “a team with the right set of complementary connectivity technologies” that will allow NXP to “offer our customer base the broadest portfolio of edge solutions which includes tailored security and a full suite of wireless connectivity spanning WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, Thread and [Near-Field Communications].”
The Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless tech operations represented about $300 million in revenue for Marvell in fiscal 2019, NXP said, and the company anticipates that the revenues associated with those new wireless assets will double by 2022 — and contribute positively to operating profits in the first full quarter after the all-cash transaction closes, which is expected in the first quarter of 2020.
NXP is a major supplier to the connected automotive market, where NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other wireless are increasingly integrated into vehicles for offerings that range from simply pairing smartphones for handsfree use, to the ability to remotely access and lock or unlock a vehicle, and personalized infotainment or internet access for passengers.
NXP emphasized that Marvell’s connectivity team has been providing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combination solutions for nearly two decades, and went on to say that the acquisition will allow NXP to offer its customers wireless connectivity solutions that include Wi-Fi 4, 5 and 6 and Bluetooth/BLE along with NXP’s flagship edge computing platforms for “comprehensive, turn-key solutions for the Industrial & IoT, Automotive and Communication Infrastructure markets that simplifies customers’ supply chain logistics and improves time-to-market.”
