Broadcom to buy NewPort

IRVINE, Calif. – Broadcom Corp., the biggest maker of semiconductors for cable modems, said Monday it had agreed to buy closely held NewPort Communications Inc., a designer of chips that send information

Tuesday, August 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6


IRVINE, Calif. – Broadcom Corp., the biggest maker of semiconductors for cable modems, said Monday it had agreed to buy closely held NewPort Communications Inc., a designer of chips that send information on fiber-optic networks, for $1.24 billion.


Broadcom will issue 5.5 million Class A shares for NewPort, its eighth acquisition this year. Broadcom shares rose $15.69 to $240.75 in Nasdaq trading. The shares have more than quadrupled in the last year.


NewPort gives Broadcom a foothold in the fast-growing market for chips used with lasers in fiber-optic equipment. NewPort, which competes with Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. and Applied Micro Circuits Corp., has developed semiconductors that occupy less space and consume less power by packing more functions on a single chip, Broadcom said.


Broadcom, which doubled its sales in the second quarter to $245.2 million, said the purchase will cut earnings per share by about 1 cent a quarter for the next three quarters. It expects to complete the acquisition in about 60 days.


Until now, Broadcom has focused on making chips for devices that speed up Internet access, such as cable modems and digital set-top boxes. It also leads the market for some chips used in corporate-network switches and computer-connector cards.


With the acquisitions of NewPort and Silicon Spice Inc., unveiled a week ago, Broadcom is adding products that run telecommunications networks.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

August 15th, 2000

March 14th, 2024

December 4th, 2023

September 25th, 2023

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024