STMicroelectronics has announced that it has acquired ams’ assets related to its NFC and RFID reader business. The company has acquired intellectual property, technologies, products and business complementary to its secure microcontroller solutions serving mobile devices, wearables, banking, identification, industrial, automotive and IoT markets. Approximately 50 technical experts from ams have been transferred to ST.
The first NFC controller, leveraging the acquired assets, is already sampling to lead customers, as well as a new high-performance, highly-integrated System-in-Package solution which combines this NFC controller with ST’s secure element.
“Security and NFC connectivity are key prerequisites for the broad rollout of mobile and IoT devices anticipated in the coming years,” said Claude Dardanne, Executive Vice President and General Manager of STMicroelectronics’ Microcontroller and Digital ICs Group.
“This acquisition builds on our deep expertise in secure microcontrollers and gives ST all of the building blocks to create the next generation of highly-integrated secure NFC solutions for mobile and for a broad range of Internet of Things devices.”
The company acquired the ams assets in exchange for a (i) cash payment of $77.8 million (funded with available cash), and (ii) deferred earn-out contingent on future results which the company currently estimates will be about $13 million but which in any case will not exceed $37 million.