Entropic Communications, a provider of home-networking silicon and software, has been selected as the successful bidder to acquire Trident Microsystems' set-top box system-on-a-chip business for $65 million.
Last month Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Trident filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Entropic originally entered a $55 million "stalking horse" bid for Trident's set-top business.
The final transaction is subject to approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. A court order authorizing Trident to sell the set-top SoC assets to Entropic is expected to be entered on or about March 6, 2012. The deal is expected to close by the end of March, subject to usual closing conditions.
Trident's customers include Cisco Systems, Motorola Mobility, EchoStar Technologies, LG Electronics, Logitech International, Pace, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Sony.
According to the companies, the deal will bring together two complementary technologies and product lines, combining Entropic's Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) solutions with Trident's SoC business to deliver a complete system solution for pay-TV providers.
"Our successful bid brings us closer to adding Trident's complementary assets, portfolio, research and development and global presence to Entropic," Entropic president and CEO Patrick Henry said in a statement Monday. "We believe the acquisition brings inherent value to both organizations' customers, employees and partners, and we look forward to closing the transaction."
Entropic expects to make employment offers to approximately 375 Trident employees worldwide.
As part of the planned acquisition, Entropic would obtain Trident's set-top box product portfolio, including STB SoCs, DOCSIS modems, interface devices and media processors. Trident's STB product lineup features a range of ARM Cortex-A9 based SoCs that have been optimized for Web technologies such as Adobe Flash, HTML5 and OpenGL ES 2.0.
