OCTOBER 30, 2007 -- Gennum Corp. (search for Gennum) announced it has acquired Snowbush Microelectronics, a supplier of analog and mixed-signal intellectual property (IP) cores. Gennum believes this acquisition will accelerate its new product introductions for 2008 and beyond, strengthen its design expertise, and expands its engineering team in the greater Toronto area.
The transaction is forecasted to contribute approximately $10 million dollars in revenue to Gennum and be accretive in 2008. Since the company's inception in 1998, Snowbush has achieved profitability each year with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46 percent in revenue.
"By leveraging the Snowbush IP, Gennum will introduce more innovative analog and mixed signal solutions to serve new, high-growth consumer connectivity markets while further securing market share in our traditional video and data communication segments," said Dr. Franz Fink, president and CEO of Gennum. "Additionally, we are well positioned to rapidly expand the IP licensing business. This, coupled with the experienced mixed-signal design team and extensive CMOS process expertise, makes Snowbush an ideal complement to drive future revenue growth."
The Snowbush IP includes a variety of serializer/deserializer (SerDes) cores for high-speed data communications and video applications such as internet routers and high-definition broadcast equipment. Snowbush also offers standards-based IP cores, such as PCI Express 2.0. Additionally, Snowbush's analog cores, such as high-speed data converters, enable the conversion of analog signals to digital signals within such devices as set-top boxes and video cameras.
Snowbush president and co-founder, Dr. Ken Martin, will become Gennum's new chief technology officer. Snowbush senior vice president and co-founder, Dr. David Johns, will also join Gennum as its vice president of IP licensing.
Gennum will pay approximately $20.3 million in cash and $3.7 million in stock to acquire Snowbush. Gennum intends to purchase these shares out of the market. Approximately, 63 percent of the purchase price will be paid on closing with the remainder paid over a three year period.
As part of the transaction, Gennum will acquire the rights to all Snowbush patents and the entire design and development team of approximately 50 employees. The former Snowbush headquarters in downtown Toronto and the design center in Aguascalientes, Mexico, will become new office locations for Gennum.
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