博通收购瑞萨LTE业务那是相当划算

博通 ( Broadcom )跌破众多业界人士眼镜，在日前宣布已签署最终协议，将收购瑞萨通信技术本部( Renesas Mobile )的LTE技术相关资产。藉由这项交易，到目前为止尚未推出LTE晶片产品的博通，将拥有供应双核心LTE单晶片的能力，而且该由瑞萨开发的晶片已经可以量产、并通过北美、日本、欧洲等地的电信业者认证。 除了接手Renesas Mobile的高品质多模、多频LTE-A/HSPA+/EDGE 数据机 IP，博通也将接纳来自Renesas Mobile欧洲与印度分公司的1,200名员工，大多数为工程师。根据博通表示，这项交易的总金额约为1.64亿美元；而自从Renesas Mobile母公司瑞萨电子(Renesas Electronics)在三年前收购诺基亚 (Nokia)无线数据机业务以来，以及投资的成本约为2亿美元。 针对收购案，市场研究机构Forward Concepts总经理Will Strauss接受EETimes美国版访问时表示：“博通的这项宣布让人吓一大跳，因为先前瑞萨已经表示将停止Renesas Mobile的营运。” 请点击参考：《瑞萨放弃无线Modem的理由：1个不够，给你5个！》 Strauss指出，博通的LTE产品确实有难产的迹象，但现在他们已经准备好在2014年第一季推出LTE晶片产品；而Renesas Mobile所开发的元件已经获得了Verizon、AT&T与NTT DoCoMo等电信业者的认证。此外他也认为，1.64亿美元的收购价格“相对划算”，博通若自行开发多模LTE数据机晶片，所需成本会比该数字更高。 其实博通内部自己有开发LTE产品的团队，该公司在今年稍早的MWC大会上展示过一款4G LTE智能手机参考平台；不过Strauss表示，博通已经花了至少三年时间在LTE晶片的开发上，但是似乎一直都没有可准备出货的产品，直到现在。他认为，这项交易让博通取得了与对手高通(Qualcomm)竞争的利器，但他也表示，高通在生态系统建立方面还是稍微领先。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Judith Cheng 参考英文原文：Broadcom Buys Renesas' LTE Assets – IP, SoC & Engineers，by Junko Yoshida

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{pagination} Broadcom Buys Renesas' LTE Assets – IP, SoC & Engineers Junko Yoshida TOKYO — Broadcom Corp. surprised many in the mobile industry Wednesday (Sept. 4) by announcing a definitive agreement to acquire LTE-related assets from Renesas Mobile. With the new acquisition deal, Broadcom, which has shipped no LTE products to date, will suddenly own a dual-core LTE SoC, developed by Renesas Mobile, ready for volume production and certified by leading global operators in North America, Japan, and Europe. Along with Renesas Mobile’s high-quality multimode, multiband, LTE-A/HSPA+/EDGE modem IP, the Irvine, Calif.-based company also inherits 1,200 employees -- mostly engineers -- from Renesas Mobile Europe and Renesas Mobile India. For the acquisition, Broadcom said that it expects to pay approximately $164 million in cash. When Renesas Electronics bought Nokia's wireless modem business three years ago, the Japanese company paid about $200 million. Will Strauss, president of Arizona-based market research firm Forward Concepts, told EE Times, "The Broadcom announcement was a total shock, since Renesas already said that it would pull the plug on Renesas Mobile." Strauss is referring to an announcement by the ailing Japanese chip vendor Renesas Electronics Corp. in late June: termination of its wireless modem business. Strauss noted, "Actually, long-suffering Broadcom's LTE program was a long way from a fielded product. Now, they say they'll be shipping LTE in 1H/14. After all, the Renesas part has been qualified at Verizon, AT&T and NTT DoCoMo." Further, Strauss described the $164 million acquisition price "a relative bargain," because the cost of developing multimode LTE Modem from scratch is higher than the amount Broadcom will pay. To be clear, Broadcom had an internal team developing LTE products. Broadcom unveiled earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress a 4G LTE-Advanced modem implemented in a 4G LTE smartphone reference platform, demonstrating its carrier aggregation capabilities. Forward Concepts' Strauss, however, noted, "Consider that Broadcom has been working on LTE for at least 3 years and didn't seem to be near a shippable product… until now." Gary Mobley, financial analyst at the Benchmark Company, wrote Wednesday in his research note about the deal: While the acquisition is expected to be ~$0.12 dilutive during the first quarter of ownership (4Q13), we view the acquisition as strategically important for Broadcom and should add further credibility to the company as an alternative merchant baseband chip supplier to Qualcomm, which is especially important since the merchant baseband chip industry has consolidated significantly in recent months. Forward Concepts' Strauss agreed that the acquisition gives Broadcom "better footing with Qualcomm." But he cautioned, "Qualcomm has years of ecosystem keeping them in front for some time."