GPS World

Tag: Global Locate

  • SiRF and CSR to Merge

    SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., based in San Jose, California, and CSR plc, formerly Cambridge Silicon Radio, headquartered in Cambridge, UK, will merge in a stock-for-stock transaction to create a new company, which will automatically assume a competitive/leading position in global connectivity and location markets. The companies expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2009.

    “Financially, strategically and commercially, this is a compelling transaction,” stated Joep van Beurden, CEO of CSR — and analysts would almost universally agree. SiRF has been under the financial microscope since troubles surfaced in Q1 2008, and speculation about an acquisition had been rife.

    Further, SiRF has been locked in a patent battle with Broadcom, the latter involved through its July 2007 acquisition of Global Locate.

    CSR has made its mark in the Bluetooth connectivity sector, combining multiple connectivity technologies, while SiRF has long pioneered GPS location with multifunction system-on-chip (SoC) location platforms for consumer handhelds and cell phones. In January 2007, CSR purchased GNSS software receiver innovator NordNav.

    For the moment, Qualcomm CDMA sits on the sidelines, but a significant and long-going market battle continues between (now) the big three in the mass market OEM GPS chip sector: Broadcom, Qualcomm, CSR — with Sony and Panasonic also quietly going about their business, primarily making GPS chips for their own brand devices, but certainly in a position to supply others, if they are not doing so already.

    Based on CSR’s and SiRF’s results for fiscal year 2008, on a pro forma basis, the combined companies would have had sales of approximately $927 million. The combination will create the single largest pure play provider of integrated connectivity and location platforms and will be one of the top 10 fabless semiconductor companies in the world, according to a joint statement by the two. Customers of the combined company include four of the top five handset manufacturers, the top five personal navigation device makers, the top two auto-telematics suppliers, and other leading auto and consumer electronics providers. CSR and SiRF will have design and customer support centers around the world.

    Under the terms of the agreement, SiRF stockholders will receive 0.741 of a CSR share for each share of SiRF common stock they own. Based on the closing stock price for CSR on February 9, this consideration would be equivalent to $2.06 of CSR stock for each SiRF share, representing total consideration of $136 million. This represents a premium to SiRF stockholders of approximately 91% over SiRF’s closing stock price on February 9. On closing of the transaction, SiRF stockholders are expected to own approximately 27% and CSR shareholders are expected to own approximately 73% of the combined company. The transaction is expected to be tax-free for SiRF stockholders.

    SiRF, listed on the NASDAQ exchange, generated revenues of $232 million in 2008, and had gross assets of $195 million as of December 27, 2008.

    CSR is listed on the London Stock Exchange. CSR’s customers include industry leaders such as Audi, Ford, LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, RIM, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TomTo,m and Toshiba. CSR has its headquarters and offices in Cambridge, UK, and offices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, India, France, Denmark, Sweden, and both Dallas and Detroit in the USA.

    According to the companies, the transaction proffers the following benefits to both the companies themselves and their stockholders:

    Combined Product Roadmap for Next-Generation Chips. The combined company will have significant R&D resources to deliver a broader portfolio of location and connectivity solutions to customers. R&D efforts will continue to support each company’s existing product lines and will also be focused on the delivery of additional multifunction radio chips, which combine CSR’s Bluetooth and other connectivity capabilities with SiRF’s GPS and GNSS technologies.

    Growing Market Opportunities and Revenue Synergies. The combined company will benefit from significantly increased scale to meet the demand for both connectivity and location services in a broad range of products spanning mobile phones, automobiles, personal computers, mobile Internet devices, digital cameras, mobile gaming, and other consumer electronics products. The companies expect to achieve significant additional revenue synergies beginning in 2010 and beyond through a combination of cross-selling opportunities, deeper penetration of existing customers, new product offerings combining complementary technologies, and access to new markets.

    Financial Synergies. The companies expect that annual cost synergies of at least $35 million in savings from gross margin improvements and reduced R&D, sales and marketing, and overhead costs can be achieved through steps that can be implemented within 60 days post completion of this transaction.

    Financial Strength and Flexibility. The combined company is expected to have a strong balance sheet and cash position. At the end of fiscal year 2008, on a pro forma basis, the combined company had $378 million in cash and no bank debt.

    Following the close of the transaction, CSR’s board of directors will be expanded to add two members of the SiRF board, interim CEO Dado Banatao and co-founder and VP of marketing Kanwar Chadha. Van Beurden will lead the combined company as CEO with the remaining leadership to be comprised of executives from both SiRF and CSR. The combined company will be headquartered in Cambridge (United Kingdom), and SiRF’s San Jose, California, headquarters will become the headquarters for CSR’s U.S. operations.

    The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and the approval of SiRF and CSR shareholders.

    More information can be found at www.csr.com.

  • ITC to Review SiRF/Broadcom Patent Imbroglio

    The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has said it will review the determination of one of its administrative law judges that previously found that SiRF Technology infringed on patents held by Broadcom subsidiary Global Locate.

    The ITC judge ruled in August that certain SiRF products, including SiRFstarIII and SiRFInstant GPS architectures, infringed upon six Global Locate/Broadcom patents; the judge later recommended to the ITC that it issue a ban on the import of related SiRF chips into the United States.

    Both SiRF and ITC staff filed appeals independently of one another seeking a review of the ruling. Now, the ITC has said it will review claims on three out of the six patents, according to SiRF.

    The commission has requested written submissions from the parties involved to address the form of remedy, if any, that should be ordered. According to the notice, if the commission contemplates some form of remedy, it must consider the effects of that remedy upon public interest, SiRF noted.

    The final ITC ruling, slated for December 2008, is further subject to a 60-day presidential review period and can then be appealed to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

    SiRF, Qualcomm Play Nice

    Apparently SiRF and Qualcomm want to avoid the legal snafu in which SiRF and Broadcom are currently embroiled. SiRF also announced that it and Qualcomm have signed a mutual Patent Non-Assertion Agreement covering each party’s patent portfolio.

    “We believe that this agreement between leading innovators of A-GPS enabled location technology will help expand the market for location-enabled products, services and content, while enabling each of us to compete in the marketplace based on product merits,” said Kanwar Chadha, SiRFs founder and vice president of marketing.

    It’s been a busy week for SiRF; on Wednesday it took the wraps off its SiRFlinkIII, a single chip that combines a GPS RF front end with a Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR controller.

  • ITC Upholds Ruling in SiRF/Broadcom Patent Dispute

    The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has denied the request of SiRF Technology to review its initial determination that found that Broadcom subsidiary Global Locate Inc. didn’t infringe two SiRF GPS patents.

    ITC Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern had previously ruled that two of SiRF’s GPS patents were not infringed by Global Locate and that the asserted claims of one of the patents were invalid, following a six-day trial last March, according to Broadcom. SiRF had already dismissed two additional patents from the case before trial.

    This ITC case is separate from a case in which an ITC judge ruled earlier this month that certain SiRF Technology products, including SiRFstarIII chipsets, infringe six patents related to improving GPS processing and sensitivity held by Global Locate.

    Broadcom and SiRF have been battling on multiple fronts over patent infringement claims in federal court, the ITC, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The August 8 ITC ruling against SiRF caused the company’s stock to take a pounding on Wall Street.

  • ITC Says SiRF Infringes Six Broadcom Patents

    A U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge has ruled that certain SiRF Technology products infringe six patents related to improving GPS processing and sensitivity that are held by Global Locate Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadcom.

    The infringement findings cover a range of SiRF products, including those incorporating the SiRFstarIII and SiRFInstant GPS architectures, according to Broadcom.

    The ruling came Friday, August 8, just a day after SiRF said it had asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reexamine four patents that are the subject of an infringement suit Broadcom has brought against SiRF in federal court. Furthermore, In June the ITC rejected claims by SiRF Technology that Global Locate infringed upon two of its patents, and also found that SiRF’s asserted claims on one of the patents at issue were invalid.

    The ruling Friday followed a trial earlier this year. Broadcom said it expects a final determination by the full six-person commission by early December.

    The six patents that SiRF was found to infringe are U.S. patents 6,417,801; 6,937,187; 6,606,346; 7,158,080; 6,704,651; 6,651,000 — relating to extended ephemeris assistance, calculating time in GPS receivers, enhancing sensitivity in assisted GPS systems, and implementing hardware structures for parallel correlation, according to Broadcom.

  • SiRF Requests Reexamination of Broadcom Patent Ruling

    SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. of San Jose, California, has completed filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office official requests for reexamination of each of the four patents that Broadcom recently asserted against SiRF in the Santa Ana, California, federal district court.

    SiRF seeks review and invalidation of all four of the Broadcom patents named in the lawsuit, through its requests for ex-parte reexamination and in view of what it terms “substantial new questions of patentability raised by prior art not previously considered by the Patent Office,” according to the company.

    SiRF also intends to seek a stay of the federal district court case.

    SiRF and Broadcom have been engaged in an ongoing legal battle over patents held by their respective companies, both claiming patent infringement. In late June, SiRF Technology petitioned the International Trade Commission (ITC) to review part of a ruling that found that Broadcom didn’t infringe upon two of its patents as the company alleged.

    A ruling in Broadcom’s six claims of patent infringement against SiRF before the ITC is expected any day. The trial took place in April.

  • SiRF Appeals ITC Ruling on Broadcom Dispute

    SiRF Technology has petitioned the International Trade Commission (ITC) to review part of a ruling earlier this month that found that Broadcom didn’t infringe upon two of its patents as the company alleged.

    ITC Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern issued his initial determination in the suit originally filed by SiRF against Global Locate on June 13 following a six-day trial in March in Washington, D.C. Broadcom acquired Global Locate in July 2007. The judge subsequently found that Broadcom didn’t infringe on SiRF’s intellectual property, and found one of the two patents in question to be invalid.

    SiRF said it has petitioned the ITC to review those aspects of the initial determination that found that the valid patent was not infringed by Broadcom.

    The intellectual property dispute goes back to 2006, when SiRF also took Global Locate to task in federal district court; it in turn counter-sued. Those suits were stayed pending the ITC ruling.

    Broadcom also has its own claims against SiRF before the ITC, having filed six claims of patent infringement; that trial took place in April of 2008. An initial determination in that case, heard before Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski, should come on Aug. 8, 2008, according to the company. Broadcom also filed a lawsuit in May 2008 in federal district court, claiming infringement of four patents.

  • ITC Rules Against SiRF, for Broadcom

    Broadcom Corp. says the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rejected claims by GPS chip maker SiRF Technology, which alleged that Global Locate infringed upon two of its patents. Furthermore, the ITC also found that SiRF’s asserted claims on one of the patents at issue were invalid, according to Broadcom.

    Broadcom acquired Global Locate in July 2007; the patent dispute stems back at least to 2006, when SiRF also took Global Locate to task in federal district court; it in turn counter-sued. Those suits were stayed pending the ITC ruling. ITC Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern issued his initial determination Friday, June 13, following a six-day trial last March in Washington, D.C.

    Broadcom also has its own claims against SiRF before the ITC, having filed six claims of patent infringement; that trial took place in April of 2008. An initial determination in that case, heard before Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski, should come on August 8, 2008, according to the company.

    Broadcom also filed a lawsuit in May 2008 in federal district court, claiming infringement of four patents.

  • Broadcom Completes Acquisition of Global Locate

    Telecom chip maker Broadcom Corp. said Thursday evening that it had completed its acquisition of Global Locate Inc., a privately held provider of GPS and assisted-GPS chips and related software.

    The acquisition is a strategic one for Broadcom, which specializes in wired and wireless semiconductors, and is known for its RF technology. The company notes that consumer interest in GPS applications is driving the market for GPS silicon; the market is expected to top $1 billion annually by 2012, Broadcom says, citing market research firm Forward Concepts.

    Broadcom envisions combining Global Locate’s GPS technology with its own Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular technologies, and supplying that combination to mobile handset makers.

    Broadcom first announced plans to acquire Global Locate in June. Broadcom, which saw nearly $3.7 billion in revenues last year, paid approximately $143 million in cash for all outstanding shares of capital stock in Global Locate. Under the terms of the deal a portion of that payable to Global Locate’s stockholders was put in escrow; up to $80 million in cash will be reserved for future payment to these stockholders, provided certain future performance goals are met.

    In connection with the transaction, certain former stockholders of Global Locate are purchasing $3 million of Broadcom’s shares at Thursday’s closing price on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Broadcom may record a one-time charge for in-process R&D expenses related to the acquisition in its current fiscal quarter, which ends Sept. 30. The amount of that charge, if any, has not yet been determined.

  • Broadcom Gets Into the GPS Chip Biz

    Communications chip maker Broadcom Corp. today said it was acquiring GPS chip maker Global Locate Inc., a privately-held provider of GPS and assisted GPS (A-GPS) chips and software.

    Broadcom expects to pay approximately $146 million in cash for all outstanding shares of Global Locate when the deal closes. It anticipates closing on the acquisition during Q3, which ends Sept. 30. A strategic move that will likely prove important in the near future for Broadcom, it’s not a stretch for the company financially; its 2006 revenues were $3.67 billion.

    Broadcom, which specializes in wired and wireless technology and is noted for its RF tech, cited the growth in GPS applications, particularly in mobile devices, as the principal driver behind the acquisition. It noted that Global Locate silicon is found in not only mobile phones but also in personal navigation devices (PNDs) from TomTom.

    “With the acquisition of Global Locate, Broadcom will be the only semiconductor supplier in the world with top-tier customers in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM radio and GPS, four of the key wireless technologies now being added to next generation mobile phones,” stated Robert A. Rango, vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s Wireless Connectivity Group. “We are also pleased to add Global Locate’s strong patent portfolio of over 175 issued and pending U.S. and foreign patents to our already robust patent portfolio.”

    Broadcom holds some 2,000 U.S. and 800 foreign patents with more than 6,000 additional pending patent applications, according to the company.

    Global Locate President Scott Pomerantz said he envisions a new generation of GPS chips coming from the merger—and the eventual appearance of Broadcom wireless technology in PNDs. “The combination of Global Locate’s navigation expertise with Broadcom’s well-known leadership in CMOS RF technology will enable Broadcom to develop a new generation of standalone GPS chips as well as GPS chips that incorporate other wireless standards, accelerating the adoption of GPS into all sorts of consumer devices,” he stated.

    Global Locate has focused on GPS chip and navigation technology since it was founded in 1999. The company is currently producing its third generation of GPS chips and has developed a worldwide GPS reference network that provides assistance data to its A-GPS-equipped chips via cellular data channels (GPRS or 3G), boosting performance and reducing the time required to determine a location by up to a factor of 100, according to the company.