Intel to sell unit that makes chips for handheld devices for $600M
Intel (INTC), facing rough competition and slowing demand for personal computers, is selling its division that makes processors for handheld devices in a $600 million deal announced Tuesday with Marvell Technology Group (MRVL).
Marvell will be acquiring the business that makes processors based on Intel's XScale technology, which produces the chips used in the popular BlackBerry and Treo handheld devices. The unit employs 1,400 people, and Marvell said it expects to retain the "vast majority" of them.
The sale comes after Intel lost 5.3 percentage points of share for PC and server microprocessors to competitor Advanced Micro Devices in 2005. In April, Intel reported a 38% decline in first-quarter profit as gross margins fell below forecasts.\
