Wolfson sold to US rival in £278m deal
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Wolfson Microelectronics, the Scottish firm responsible for developing audio processors for smartphones and other consumer electronics devices, has been sold to Texas-based rival Cirrus Logic for £278million.
The acquisition, seen as a big blow to the UK's high-tech cluster, is expected to complete in the second half of 2014.
Last year, Wolfson reported flat revenues of $179million and mounting losses of $13million. In October, increasing pressure from American rivals such as Qualcomm and Cirrus forced it to cut its global workforce by 10%.
Wolfson admitted it had been blindsided by the rate at which consumers were adopting 4G smartphones. The company was dropped by Apple in 2009 after it was late with shipments. The contract to supply parts for the iPhone 3GS was then given to Cirrus.
Michael Ruettgers, Wolfon's chairman, said: "The Board of Wolfson believes that this is an attractive offer for Wolfson shareholders.
"We believe this reflects the hard work that Mike Hickey and his team have put into building Wolfson as a leader in the supply of high performance audio hubs and MEMS microphones to the consumer electronics market.
"We believe this will create a powerful platform for future growth, above and beyond our standalone potential."
Wolfon was spun out of the University of Edinburgh in 1984 and floated in 2003. Cirrus says taking over the company will help it broaden its offering.
Jason Rhode, the company's chief executive, commented: "This acquisition strengthens Cirrus Logic's core business as a leader in audio signal processing components, enhances our ability to differentiate our products with software, and adds new product categories."
