Cypress Enters Agreement to Sell PSRAM Business to Taiwan’s ESMT
HSINCHU, Taiwan & SAN JOSE, Calif.--Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology Inc., Taiwan (ESMT) and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. today announced a Technology Transfer Agreement under which ESMT will acquire Cypress’s Pseudo Static Random Access Memory (PSRAM) product line. According to the agreement, Cypress will transfer PSRAM-related intellectual property, photomasks and probe card assets to ESMT, strengthening ESMT’s memory product portfolio for handheld devices. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Ahmad Chatila, executive vice president of Cypress’s Memory and Imaging Division, said, “The divestiture of the PSRAM business is consistent with Cypress’s new strategic direction.” Chatila added that ESMT will continue all delivery and support to Cypress’s current PSRAM customer base.
ESMT markets, designs and manufactures specialty memory products for consumer products including DVD players and recorders, LCD flat panel monitors and TVs, portable automotive audio/video systems, MP3 players, settop boxes, and video game systems. The company has been aggressively pursuing the booming mobile phone market in recent years.
“We believe that this transaction will not only boost ESMT’s revenue significantly, but that it will also enable the company to quickly cut into the supply chain of major cellular phone makers, since Cypress is one of the world’s top-tier PSRAM suppliers,” said Hsing-Hai Chen, Chairman at ESMT.
“Looking forward, we believe mobile communications will provide most of the driving force behind the consumer electronic market, and that low-power memory chips are one of the key components in this segment,” H.H.Chen added. “ESMT will continuously develop low-power, low-cost mobile memory products to meet market requirements and to strive for a leading position in the market, providing win-win solutions to our customers.”
ESMT’s existing low power SDRAM product line includes 16-Mbit, 32-Mbit, 64-Mbit and 128-Mbit devices for the handheld market. With the PSRAM product transfer from Cypress, ESMT’s Mobile RAM product line will expand to cover lower-density, low-power memory products including 2-Mbit, 4-Mbit, 8-Mbit, 16-Mbit and 32-Mbit PSRAM devices.
Combining existing engineering competency and production resources with the acquired Cypress PSRAM products, ESMT will be able to provide handheld device customers a more complete portfolio of memory solutions.
About ESMT
ESMT is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and markets a diversified range of memory and non-memory integrated circuit products for applications in digital consumer electronics, networking, mobile communications, hard disc storage, optical disc storage etc. The Company's primary products are specialty memories including SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, mobile SD/DDR and PSRAM. The Company also provides KGD solution for all memory IC to satisfy emerging demands of System-in-Package (SiP) and Multi-Chip-Package (MCP) requirements. ESMT’s non-memory products include class-D audio amplifier and AD converter. ESMT is headquartered in Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan with worldwide sales channels in China, Japan, Europe, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. ESMT trades on Taiwan Stock Exchange with code 3006. Further information on ESMT can be found on the company website at www.esmt.com.tw.
About Cypress
Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that provide customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value. Cypress offerings include the PSoC® Programmable System-on-Chip™, USB controllers, general-purpose programmable clocks and memories. Cypress also offers wired and wireless connectivity solutions ranging from its WirelessUSB™ radio system-on-chip, to West Bridge™ and EZ-USB® FX2LP controllers that enhance connectivity and performance in multimedia handsets. Cypress serves numerous markets including consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Cypress trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at www.cypress.com.
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