Freescale Semiconductor

Infobox_Company
company_name = Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = Making the world a smarter place
foundation = Spin-off from Motorola in 2004
location_city =
location_country = USA
key_people = Rich Beyer, CEO
Lisa Su, CTO
num_employees = 24,000
industry = Semiconductors
products =
revenue = profit$5.7 billion USD (2007)
operating_income = profit$1.9 billion USD (2007)
net_income = loss-$1.6 billion USD (2007)
homepage = [http://www.freescale.com/ www.freescale.com]

Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is an American semiconductor manufacturer. It was created by the divestiture of the Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola in 2004. Freescale focuses their integrated circuit products on the automotive, embedded and communications markets. Freescale is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.

History and products

Motorola announced that their semiconductor division would be divested on October 6, 2003 to create Freescale. Freescale completed its IPO on July 16, 2004 at an IPO price of $13. In its announcement, it estimated the stock price to be $17.50-$19.50 but following a cooling of the market towards tech stocks, it lowered its price to $13. Existing shareholders of Motorola stock received 0.110415 shares of Freescale stock for every share of Motorola stock as a dividend which was distributed on December 2, 2004 [http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/90/90829/reports/112604infoformot.pdf Motorola Shareholder Letter] .

Products

Automotive

Freescale is the leading semiconductor supplier to the automotive industry. Modern cars use electronics to manage the engine for peak performance and to reduce emissions, and Freescale is the largest supplier of engine system microcontrollers in the world. Automotive safety systems such as anti-lock brakes and airbags also use microcontrollers and analog power management circuits from Freescale. Freescale also produces a range of integrated sensor products such as accelerometers and pressure sensors.

Freescale's SMARTMOS analog portfolio provides power actuation and multiple switch detect interface family ICs, system basis chips for hybrid vehicles [http://www.freescale.com/files/shared/doc/selector_guide/SG2027.pdf?WT_TYPE=Selector%20Guides&WT_VENDOR=FREESCALE&WT_FILE_FORMAT=pdf&WT_ASSET=Documentation]

Other major parts

Other major parts of Freescale's semiconductor business are wireless and mobile products, and networking chips. Freescale had also been a source of PowerPC microprocessors (ICs) for Apple Computer's PowerBooks and Mac mini products until the Apple Intel transition in 2006. They joined Power.org in 2006 as a founding member to develop and promote the use of Power Architecture. CherryPal, a new PC maker, will reintroduce the Power Architecture to the personal computer market with the forthcoming July 2008 launch of its CherryPal cloud-computer.

In 2006 the company announced a new Integrated Circuit (IC) which stores information without requiring continuous power. The technology, called magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), stores data by relying on magnetic properties instead of an electrical charge. Freescale started commercial shipments of the 4-Mbit MRAM IC on July 10, 2006, with small volume sales priced at $25 per chip.

Buyout

On Friday, September 15, 2006 Freescale agreed to accept a buyout for the sum of $17.6 billion ($40 per share) by a consortium led by Blackstone Group LP. Share prices of $13 at the July 2004 IPO had risen to $39.35 in afterhours trading that Friday when the news, rumored that week, broke. A special shareholders meeting on November 13, 2006 voted to accept the buyout offer. The purchase, which closed on December 1, 2006, is reportedly the largest private buyout of a technology company and one of the ten largest buyouts of all time. [ [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/15/freescale_accepts_takeover_offer/ Freescale sells itself for $17.6bn cash – or more] 15th September 2006] [ [http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/newsanalysis/techsemis/10313043.html Freescale Took Scenic Buyout Route] October 4, 2006 ] [ [http://www.microcontroller.com/news/freescale_buyout.asp Freescale Semiconductor Bought Out by Blackstone for $17.6Billion] September 25, 2006] [ [http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=937966 Consortium of Private Equity Firms Completes Acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor] December 1, 2006]

Competitors

* [http://www.am.necel.com/micro/index.html/ NEC Electronics]
*NXP Semiconductors
*Micron Technology
*Infineon
*STMicroelectronics

ee also

*List of Freescale products

Notes

External links

* [http://www.freescale.com/ Corporate website]
* [http://forums.freescale.com/ Freescale Community - Technical Support]
* [http://www.freescale.com/Support Freescale Official Support]