Renesas to leave wireless modem business
Less than three years after buying Nokia's wireless modem technology and its business unit, Renesas has decided to work towards the closure of its mobile technology group. The troubled company cites 'tougher than expected' market conditions and the need to further concentrate on its core business.
The $200million deal was intended to strengthen Renesas' position as a leading chipset vendor in the 3G and LTE markets. Yasushi Akao, who was president of Renesas Electronics at the time, said the acquisition would serve as an important step for Renesas to become a leading mobile platform vendor. As part of the deal, Renesas acquired technologies relating t LTE, HSPA and GSM, as well as some related patents.
Renesas will now stop developing the LTE modem, but will continue to supply older technologies and those in mass production.
The closure, which will affect around 1400 employees in Finland, India and China, is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
