Digital graphic chipmaker Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) announced Monday that it completed its $367 million all-cash acquisition of Icera, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of NVIDIA operating under the Icera trade name.
Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia stated that it currently offers the two main processors used in smartphones with the addition of Icera. They are the applications processor, in the form of the NVIDIATegra super chip, and the baseband processor, based on Icera technology.
Nvidia said that the combined offerings along with Icera will help OEM customers improve their time to market and deliver the requirements of next-generation mobile computing, while also nearly doubling Nvidia's revenue opportunity within each mobile device.
On May 9, Nvidia agreed to acquire privately-held Icera, Inc. in UK for $367 million in an all-cash deal. Through the acquisition, Nvidia aims to venture into baseband processor market and to establish itself in growing mobile and tablet market.
Nvidia noted that the combination is expected to be accretive on an operating basis in the second half of 2012. Nvidia will combine Icera's wireless-modem products and technologies, with its own Tegra processor.
The acquisition is seen as a key step in Nvidia's plans to be a major player in the mobile computing revolution. Adding Icera's technology to Tegra will give it an outstanding platform to support the industry's best phones and tablets.
Icera is an innovator in next-generation, multi-protocol wireless baseband processors with RF components. The ultra-low-power processor helps in scaling up 2G to 4G networks and the market is estimated to be worth $15 billion a year. Icera has approximately 300 employees in seven countries in Europe and Asia, as well as the U.S.
In Monday's regular trading session, NVDA is currently trading at $17.08, down $0.04 or 0.23 percent on a volume of 2.50 million shares.
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