Qualcomm to Acquire Atheros for $3.1 Billion

Qualcomm and Atheros Communications have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Qualcomm intends to acquire Atheros, a maker of technologies for wireless and wired local area connectivity in the computing, networking and consumer electronics industries. The acquisition is intended to help accelerate the expansion of Qualcomm’s technologies and platforms to new businesses beyond cellular.

Qualcomm has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Atheros for $45 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of $3.1 billion. The transaction has been approved by the Qualcomm and Atheros boards of directors and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of Atheros’ stockholders. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2011.

"It is Qualcomm’s strategy to continually integrate additional technologies into mobile devices to make them the primary way that people communicate, compute and access content," said Dr. Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, in a statement. "This acquisition is a natural extension of that strategy into other types of devices."