Thursday, January 27, 2011

ON Semi to Acquire Cypress Image Sensor Business

Business Wire: ON Semiconductor and Cypress announced that a definitive agreement has been signed for ON Semiconductor to acquire the Image Sensor Business Unit (ISBU) from Cypress in an all cash transaction for approximately $31.4 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2011, subject to customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of the Image Sensor Business Unit from Cypress will solidify our position as a leading supplier of CMOS Image Sensor products,” said Bob Klosterboer, SVP and GM of ON Semiconductor’s Digital and Mixed Signal Group (DMSG). “In addition, the acquisition will strengthen the company’s talent base and add an experienced design and applications engineering team for the image sensor market segment. The 2D high-speed CMOS image sensors from the ISBU will significantly strengthen and complement ON Semiconductor’s image sensor products for the industrial, medical, computing and military/aerospace markets.

ON Semiconductor’s current products target one dimensional image sensing with particular focus on contact image sensing and ambient/proximity sensors. Once the acquisition is closed, the company will have a complete image sensing product offering between 1D and 2D sensors and across multiple end-markets.

Pursuant to the agreement, ON Semiconductor is expected to acquire approximately 100 patents and patent applications related exclusively to the business and receive appropriate intellectual property licenses from Cypress Semiconductor in order to continue to conduct and grow the business. As part of the transaction, approximately 80 Cypress Semiconductor ISBU employees will join the ON Semiconductor organization.

Thanks to T.B. for sending me the link!

Update: EETimes gives some background information on ON Semi recent acqusitions.

10 comments:

  1. 31.4 millions is not a good deal considering they bought Fillfactory for 100 millions. I guess business becomes tough in niche market as well.

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  2. I think that it was a management problem when Cypress acquired Fillfactory. The core team was mainly niche market oriented and the engagement in mobile cam sensor business was fatal for them...

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  3. This will certainly be the end of their Custom Design Activities...

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  4. why do you think so?

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  5. @"the end of custom design"

    ON has decades of experience in custom design and manufacturing, including image sensors. It seems unlikely they would stop doing so after this acquisition.

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  6. Where can we see camera's built around sensors made in all these 'decades' ? If this team / activity would have been that strong, purchasing a design house would seem to be superfluous, no?

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  7. @"where can we see": How the hell should I know? I don't work there, and if I would, I couldn't tell you. Custom ASIC customers often prefer to remain anonymous. I'm just going by public information on their custom ASIC business.

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  8. AVT and others list some industrial cameras based on the IBIS5 sensor. There must be others using Cypress' lastest standard product offerings.

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  9. IBIS5 can hardly be called a new sensor; it has been around for more than 6 years or so? It seems to me that "where can we see" was referring to ON semi based camera's camera's.

    @ "How the h*ll" : many custom sensors end up into products that can be bought and in many times the ASIC designer is identified..

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  10. @anon
    re: "how the h*ll"

    As far as I know this information is not public, ON doesn't mention this in their custom design brochure.

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