STMicroelectronics, the people responsible for the Nomadik chipset inside the Nokia N96 that has yet to ship and the 5th largest player in the semiconductor, and NXP, the people who built the PNX4903 chipset that enables ridiculopusly cheap mobile phones with multimedia capabilites to be created and the 9th largest semiconductor company, are merging their wireless businesses by creating a joint venture.
STM will own 80% of the JV, which is expected to be fully operational, profitable and debt free by the third quarter of this year.
“The wireless semiconductor industry requires consolidation,” said Jean-Francois Baril, senior vice president of sourcing and procurement with Nokia. “We welcome the emergence of this joint venture creating a strong player serving the top mobile phone manufacturers, understanding the needs of these customers and providing the required speed of innovation.”
[Via: Cellular News]