Qualcomm today said it has agreed to acquire Flash OFDM wireless broadband firm Flarion Technologies for $600 million in cash and stock. Qualcomm said it may pay an additional $205 million in cash and stock if certain milestones are reached. Flarion makes base stations and other equipment that provide broadband wireless data services using Flash OFDM technology. The company claims annual sales of $28.7 million. Qualcomm and Flarion expect the deal to close later this year. Flarion Technologies is a member of the 2003 FierceWireless Fierce 15, an annual list of the top emerging wireless companies.
Industry insiders are abuzz about this deal. Qualcomm has achieved great success with proprietary wireless technologies in the past and some suggest that Flarion's version of OFDM could evolve into the next generation of CDMA. Qualcomm is using a form of OFDM technology in the FLO platform it is developing for mobile multimedia.
For more on Qualcomm's deal for Flarion:
- read this story from silicon.com