British Chipmaker CSR Sells Mobile Business To Samsung For $310m

British Chipmaker Sells Mobile Business To Samsung

A British chipmaker has sold its mobile business to Samsung for $310m.

CSR, which mostly makes Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS chips, said the all-cash deal will "transform the profile of CSR's business and its growth prospects".

The deal covers CSR's "handset connectivity and location development operation and technology". Its shares jumped nearly 40% after the deal was announced.

Around 300 staff will move to Samsung after the deal is complete, to work in its components division which supplies several competitors - including Apple - with chips.

Samsung will also buy 4.9% of the wider business for $35m, which will give it access to the company's patent portfolio. Lately CSR has been promoting its chips designed to aid indoor navigation - services which Google has recently added to its Maps product used by Samsung in its Galaxy Android phones.

The Korean company is currently engaged in a long-running and complex patent dispute with Apple over its mobile products. CSR's 21 US patents could theoretically be a key strategic acquisition.

CSR is a Cambridge-based company which went public in 2004. It employs around 2,500 people and in 2011 registed profits of $384m on just under $850m of revenue.

However its share price has collapsed in the past two years after some of its main customers, including Nokia and Research In Motion (BlackBerry) have lost market share. Both are now subject to near-constant takeover rumours.

According to specialist site Gigaom, CSR's purchase of video chip makers Zoran in 2011 for $484m resulted in the loss of 1,000 jobs and further falls in share price.

As a result, most of the money from the Samsung deal will go back to its shareholders.

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