RSSTransmeta agrees to Novafora acquisition
By Angela Gunn | Published November 17, 2008, 5:28 PM
Transmeta's third-quarter earnings report will not be brought to you as scheduled today. Instead, the company will speak tomorrow morning about its just-announced acquisition by video processor firm Novafora.
The all-cash deal for $255.6 million (subject to the usual working capital and other adjustments) should deliver unto shareholders a return of between $18.70 and $19 per share -- nicely above even the 52-week high of $17.79. Transmeta was trading at $18 in after-hours activity.
Both boards of directors have signed off on the deal, the terms of which include a stipulation that Transmeta will not enter into any future licensing transactions without Novafora's consent. In related news, Transmeta also announced today that it has entered into a non-exclusive patent license agreement with chipmaker AMD (Advanced Micro Devices); that agreement includes the transfer from AMD to Transmeta of 700,000 shares of Transmeta Series B Preferred stock.
AMD was at one point believed to be in the market for Transmeta.
Since its founding in 1995, Transmeta has sported a reputation for interesting chip-design theory and world-class hype. After a boom-era run that included being denoted Silicon Valley's "most important company" in an Upside editorial and attracting star power such as Linus Torvalds (temporarily) to the fold, the company spent most of the past few years fighting intellectual-property skirmishes and fishing for licensees. It folded its hardware-development efforts in 2007, having never turned a profit as a chip vendor.
Novafora was founded in 2004. On its Web site, it describes its mission as accelerating the digital video revolution with a family of video-optimized processors featuring a fully programmable video engine.
guess you got no idea who all using inventions from Transmeta hell you can even have device in room w/o knowing it ;)
so much for mr. bombastic comments :)
Score: 0
Yup, so many that Transmeta is going down the tubes quickly, instead of growing.
Yeah, tell us what is so critical and what has failed to prevent Transmeta's slide to obscurity?
We all would love to hear about it! LOL!
Score: 0
*snicker* I'm gonna mark you down as one vote for 'dodged a bullet,' then, foxfyre? And what do you think of the prospect of a Transmeta-Novafora matchup, other than it being quite the little tongue-twister?
Score: 0
One would need to see what Novaforma, a fabless semiconductor design company specializing in video technology, actually delivers and how Transmeta adds real value.
So far, there is not much information (nor tangible results) regarding just what unique information/capabilities they actually bring to the table, aside from the potential to provide outsourced development capabilities to less capable firms.
Score: 0
Yup, just what AMD needs, another whiz bang over-hyped and under-delivering liability where the most notable characteristic of the company was that Linus once worked there!
Score: 0