Inside acquires Atmel’s sms business

The deal is subject to an additional cash consideration of up to $21million if certain earn out targets are met in 2010 and 2011. Approximately 160 employees were transferred to Inside as part of the assets and shares purchase transaction. The agreement also provides Inside a royalty based, intellectual property license agreement to support current and future SMS products. In addition, Inside entered into a multiyear supply agreement to continue sourcing wafers from the fab facility in Rousset, France that Atmel recently sold to LFoundry. With operations in East Kilbride and Rousset in France, Atmel's sms business has a range of contact and contactless ICs for smart cards and security applications, including secure microcontrollers, embedded security chips and smart card reader ICs. "The products, markets, technologies, expertise and experience we are gaining from Atmel's secure microcontroller solutions business are 100% complementary to Inside's current business in all aspects, and therefore we see lots of positive synergies going forward," said Rémy de Tonnac (pictured), chief executive officer for Inside Contactless. "As important, this acquisition provides us with greater critical mass in terms of company size, as well as the diversification of revenue, to ensure our global positioning, future growth and success."