The Wall Street Journal-20080205-Business Technology- In Brief

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Business Technology: In Brief

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Freescale to Acquire

Designer SigmaTel

SigmaTel Inc. agreed to be acquired by Freescale Semiconductor Inc., a closely held manufacturer of embedded semiconductors, for about $110 million. Freescale will pay $3 a share for SigmaTel, a semiconductor- design company. The agreement, expected to close in the second quarter, also has a "go-shop" provision allowing SigmaTel to consider potential competing proposals through March 4. In 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading yesterday, SigmaTel shares rose $1.15, or 64%, to $2.94.

New Approach Cuts

Chips' Power Use

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Texas Instruments Inc. disclosed an approach for dramatically reducing the power consumption of chips for such applications as implanted medical devices. In a paper prepared for a conference in San Francisco, MIT researchers describe a way to operate a Texas Instruments chip at 0.3 volts, compared with at least one volt required for most chips. Chips based on the technology -- likely five years or so from market -- might eventually be powered by the human body's own heat, the researchers said.

National Semi Sees

Lower Sales, Margins

National Semiconductor Corp. lowered the sales outlook for its fiscal third quarter ending Feb. 24 to $450 million to $455 million due to lower-than-expected shipments to global original-equipment manufacturers and handset companies in China. Previously, the company, whose semiconductors help run cell phones and digital TV displays, had expected sales to fall 1% to 5% from second-quarter levels of $499 million. The Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker expects gross margin of 63% for the third quarter, slightly lower than its original outlook.

Seagate Approves

Stock-Buyback Plan

Seagate Technology Inc. approved a $2.5 billion share-repurchase plan and the company boosted its quarterly per-share dividend to 12 cents from 10 cents. The Scotts Valley, Calif., maker of computer disk drives said the repurchase program will span the next 24 months and will be funded through a combination of cash on hand, future cash flow from operations, and potential alternative sources of financing.