The acquisition, for US$54 million in cash and stock, is the latest in the red-hot navigation and location-based services markets.
The addition of u-Nav’s shipping GPS technologies to Atheros’ Radio-on-Chip for Mobile (ROC) portfolio will let the company deliver high-performance, cost-efficient combinations of mobile solutions featuring WLAN, Bluetooth and GPS technologies.
The GPS-enables device market is one of the fast growing electronics segments worldwide. The research firm, In-Stat, forecasts the number of GPS-enabled mobile devices to grow from 180 million units in 2007 to 720 million units in 2011.
The company said this compound annual growth rate of more than 75 per cent is driven by the increasing popularity among consumers of GPS services in wireless handsets and personal navigation devices, and the expansion of the capability into consumer devices such as laptops, mobile gaming products and digital cameras
“With u-Nav’s GPS competency we will deliver an impressive set of wireless solutions that include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, increasing the value we bring to our customers,” said Atheros president and chief executive Craig Barratt.
The privately held u-Nav was founded in 2001 and is based in California. Its 54 employees will join Atheros but remain in Irvine and at u-Nav's European engineering facility in Finland. u-Nav chief executive Greg Winner has been appointed general manager of Atheros' GPS business.
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