Technical Insight
Infineon sells IR business (Opto News)
Vishay Intertechnology will acquire Infineon s infrared components business including the company s development, marketing and distribution activities in San Jose, California and production facility in Malaysia for approximately $120 million. Infrared components are used primarily as optical interfaces in PCs, cell phones, PDAs, industrial automation systems, set-top boxes, voice/data switching and data transmission equipment. The acquisition, which also includes a workforce of around 1200, is expected to close by the end of July, subject to customary regulations. Following the sale, Vishay will add to its portfolio Infineon s optocoupler and solid-state relay product lines, as well as infrared data transmission modules, data access arrangement kits and custom optoelectronic modules. Vishay is currently the largest manufacturer in the US and Europe of passive components such as resistors, capacitors and inductors, and a major producer of discrete semiconductors, including diodes and transistors. Headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, the company also produces infrared LEDs, in addition to power and analog switching ICs. "This acquisition will enable Vishay to significantly strengthen its current position in the optoelectronics sector, and specifically in the growing infrared components portion of that market," commented Felix Zandman, Vishay s chairman and CEO. Vishay will initially take 19% ownership of Infineon Technologies Krubong, the recently opened production facility in Malaysia; the transfer will be completed in 2002. "This divestiture is another important step to streamline our communications portfolio," said Ulrich Schumacher, Infineon s president and CEO. "With the sale of the infrared components business and our consumer electronics business to Micronas last November, we have now completed our plan of concentrating our wireline activities for the present. We will continue to expand our strategic core activities in the field of local area networks and wide area networks, as well as in network access."
