In brief: Freescale, Emcore, Avanex, Celeritek
Freescale Semiconductor, Motorola s chip-making unit, was spun-off on July 16, with an initial public offering (IPO) of 121.6 million shares raising $1.58 billion.
The sale raised far less cash than Motorola s earlier estimate of $2.37 billion, with a fall in the planned debut price from $17.50-19.50 to $13. The disappointing price mirrored the general trend of the sector; for example, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange semiconductor index fell by over 15% during the first two weeks of July. Freescale s common stock is now listed on the NYSE under the symbol "FSL".
Emcore acquires Corona for $1.2 millionUS-based Emcore Corporation has acquired Corona Optical Systems for a cash payment of $1.2 million. Corona, with locations in Lombard, IL, and Eau Claire, WI, specializes in parallel optics, and manufactures ultra small form factor transceivers used in high-density telecom switching boxes.
Emcore, which has added 13 of Corona s employees to its ranks, expects sales of Corona s Optocube transceiver to exceed $4 million in the next 12 months.
Avanex to free-up $100 millionFiber-optic component and sub-system manufacturer Avanex, based in Fremont, CA, has filed a registration statement to allow the sale of up to $100 million worth of its securities.
"We expect this registration to give us the flexibility to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, working capital, and capital expenditures," said Avanex s CEO, Walter Alessandrini.
Celeritek reports flat semiconductor salesUS-based GaAs component and subsystem manufacturer Celeritek has reported semiconductor revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2005 of $3.3 million, down $0.2 million compared to the previous quarter, but up $1.7 million from the equivalent quarter in fiscal 2004.
Celeritek s backlog for semiconductor products on 30 June was $4 million.
Tamer Husseini, Celeritek s CEO, commented on the sale of its defense subsystem business to Teledyne Wireless (see related story): "As part of the agreement, we will continue to supply GaAs semiconductor components to Teledyne for use in defense sub-systems."
Mid-power LEDs bridge the gapA collaboration between Agilent Technologies and its part-subsidiary Lumileds will develop a series of mid-power LEDs. The devices, targeting automotive, mobile phone and lighting applications, will complement Lumileds high-power Luxeon LEDs, and Agilent s low power devices.
