This summer UK-based Imagination Technologies announced that it was putting itself up for sale after losing one of its biggest customers when Apple decided to start designing graphics technologies for its iPhones and iPads in-house.
Now it looks like Imagination is splitting its assets with a California-based investment group called Tallwood acquiring Imagination’s MIPS CPU design business for $65 million Chinese-backed private equity firm Canyon Bridge buying the rest of Imagination’s business for $550 million.
Both deals are expected to close this month.
Imagination isn’t a chip maker like Intel, but rather a chip designer like ARM. The company creates CPU and graphics technologies that are licensed by companies like Apple (until recently) to incorporate in their own products.
MIPS architecture was originally designed for use in general-purpose computers including desktop PCs and servers. In recent years, it’s become more commonly found in embedded systems such as routers and IoT devices.
Imagination’s PowerVR technology, meanwhile, has been used in ARM-based chips like Apple’s A8 through A10X processors, MediaTek’s Helio X30, and Intel’s 2014-era Atom Z35xx line of chips.
It’s unclear what the sale of Imagination’s PowerVR and MIPS businesses means for the future of those platforms. Maybe new ownership will mean an influx of cash for research, development and marketing. Or maybe the new owners just wanted the patents that come along with the purchase.
You can find more details about Imagination’s sale at the company’s Sales Process page.
I wonder why all chinese companies are getting so cheap prices for companies which they want to acquire? Come on guy if you even will sell to chinese, give them real price! Imigination technology and its portfolio cost way more than that plus double digits as chinese does not have such technology, meaning they are going to buy more than company but technology which they will use in all of those new gadgets. Now where is capitalism? or it is now fashion trade stuff to so call “communists” for nothing?!