Broadcom Gets Into the GPS Chip Biz

Communications chip maker Broadcom Corp. today said it was acquiring GPS chip maker Global Locate Inc., a privately-held provider of GPS and assisted GPS (A-GPS) chips and software.

Broadcom expects to pay approximately $146 million in cash for all outstanding shares of Global Locate when the deal closes. It anticipates closing on the acquisition during Q3, which ends Sept. 30. A strategic move that will likely prove important in the near future for Broadcom, it’s not a stretch for the company financially; its 2006 revenues were $3.67 billion.

Broadcom, which specializes in wired and wireless technology and is noted for its RF tech, cited the growth in GPS applications, particularly in mobile devices, as the principal driver behind the acquisition. It noted that Global Locate silicon is found in not only mobile phones but also in personal navigation devices (PNDs) from TomTom.

“With the acquisition of Global Locate, Broadcom will be the only semiconductor supplier in the world with top-tier customers in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM radio and GPS, four of the key wireless technologies now being added to next generation mobile phones,” stated Robert A. Rango, vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s Wireless Connectivity Group. “We are also pleased to add Global Locate’s strong patent portfolio of over 175 issued and pending U.S. and foreign patents to our already robust patent portfolio.”

Broadcom holds some 2,000 U.S. and 800 foreign patents with more than 6,000 additional pending patent applications, according to the company.

Global Locate President Scott Pomerantz said he envisions a new generation of GPS chips coming from the merger—and the eventual appearance of Broadcom wireless technology in PNDs. “The combination of Global Locate’s navigation expertise with Broadcom’s well-known leadership in CMOS RF technology will enable Broadcom to develop a new generation of standalone GPS chips as well as GPS chips that incorporate other wireless standards, accelerating the adoption of GPS into all sorts of consumer devices,” he stated.

Global Locate has focused on GPS chip and navigation technology since it was founded in 1999. The company is currently producing its third generation of GPS chips and has developed a worldwide GPS reference network that provides assistance data to its A-GPS-equipped chips via cellular data channels (GPRS or 3G), boosting performance and reducing the time required to determine a location by up to a factor of 100, according to the company.