Atmel considering bid for its SMS business

Inside Contactless has submitted an offer to the mcu specialist which would result in a multi-year supply agreement to source wafers from the fab operation in Rousset, France. Atmel would also make a minority equity investment in Inside. Steven Laub (pictured), Atmel's president and chief executive officer, said: "In addition to further advancing our strategic focus on Atmel's core microcontroller and touch technologies, we believe that the highly complementary nature of the Inside business and the sms product portfolio should create a positive outcome for both the sms employees and customers." Remy de Tonnac, chief executive officer of Inside Contactless, added: "We believe combining Atmel's sms business with Inside should create exciting opportunities for our customers and the smart card industry. The products, technologies, customer base and operations of the sms business would complement our own, resulting in a world class company with greater depth and breadth to service our customers." The announcement follows Atmel's agreement to sell its wafer fabrication operation in Rousset, France, to LFoundry, which is expected to close during the second quarter of 2010. Atmel is presenting the bid to the members of the Works Council in Rousset today.