NXP buys Marvell’s Wi-Fi connectivity assets for $1.76B

Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors is buying Marvell’s Wi-Fi connectivity business for $1.76 billion. The acquisition includes Marvell’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology portfolios and related assets. 

NXP CEO Richard Clemmer said in a statement that Marvell’s wireless assets combined with NXP’s embedded processing would allow it to “offer our customer base the broadest portfolio of edge solutions, which includes tailored security and a full suite of wireless connectivity spanning Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, Thread and NFC.” 

The Marvell Wi-Fi and Bluetooth business employs about 550 people around the globe, and it generated roughly $300 million in revenue in Marvell’s fiscal 2019. NXP expects revenue associated with the acquired assets to double by 2022.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both NXP and Marvell, and is expected to close by the first quarter of 2020.

For its part, Marvell CEO Matt Murphy said the divestiture “yields a premium valuation and substantially higher economic return for Marvell shareholders while accelerating our transformation into a leading infrastructure supplier spanning 5G, data center, enterprise and automotive Ethernet applications.”

Marvell has been on a tear the last year, refining its focus. Just last week Marvell announced it was purchasing Avera Semiconductor, the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) business of Global Foundries. Marvell is paying $740 million for Avera, saying the acquisition will extend its reach in 5G base stations and make it a leading ASIC supplier for wired and wireless infrastructure.

Earlier this month, Marvell said it was buying Aquantia for $452 million to complement its portfolio of copper and optical physical layer product offerings and extend its Ethernet position.

RELATED: Marvell buys Aquantia for $452M in cash

In July 2018, Marvel purchased Cavium for about $6 billion, bringing together two major players in infrastructure silicon. Their combined products make it a powerhouse in data center compute, storage and connectivity.