Intel acquires ST-Ericsson GNSS business

ST-Ericsson has confirmed that Intel will be the buyer for its global navigation satellite system (GNSS) business.
 
In a statement released Tuesday, the money-losing JV between Ericsson and STMicroelectronics said it has agreed to sell the assets and intellectual property rights associated with its mobile connectivity GNSS business to a leading semiconductor company, without naming the buyer.
 
But an ST-Ericsson spokesperson told TelecomAsia.net that Intel will be purchasing the unit.
 
The spokesperson declined to reveal the value of the deal. But the company estimates the proceeds from the sale, combined with the avoidance of employee restructuring charges and other related restructuring costs, will reduce the JV cash needs by approximately $90 million (€69 million).
 
The deal, pending approval from regulatory bodies, is expected to be complete in August. Upon the completion, 130 employees located in Daventry (UK), Bangalore (India) and Singapore will join Intel as a result.
 
Separately, Digi has contracted Ericsson to provide a M2M platform to strengthen the Malaysian telco’s M2M offerings for its growing enterprise customer base.
 
The Ericsson Device Connection Platform provides M2M connectivity as a service.
 
 
“The M2M platform will enable DiGi's enterprise customers to monitor devices anytime and anywhere, access information quickly and accurately, and integrate easily into existing systems over the complete device life cycle,” Ericsson said in a statement.
Akash Das, DiGi's head of M2M Strategy, said the company already provides M2M services to a variety of customers across several industry verticals, all of which will now be gradually migrated to the Ericsson Device Connection Platform.
 
“It will ready our customers for new business strategies that rely on a broad spectrum of devices as data services become more mature in Malaysia. This new platform will enable DiGi to offer the highest level of reliable and flexible M2M connectivity services to our enterprise customers."
 
Apart from Digi, Ericsson is already providing its M2M solution to operators worldwide including 3UK, TeliaSonera, MegaFon, Swisscom and XL Axiata, the vendor said.