Fremont, Calif.-based Exar Corp. and German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG said that they have entered into a definitive agreement in which Exar will acquire for cash a significant part of Infineon's optical networking business unit.
Analog and mixed signal chipmaker Exar gains Infineon's assets relating to multi-rate TDM framer products, fiber channel over SONET/SDH, resilient packet ring (RPR), as well as certain intellectual property for data over SONET products. The companies expect the transaction to close shortly.
Infineon's existing MetroMapper family of ethernet over SONET products will remain part of its product portfolio to ensure continued support for its customers.
"Following the sale of a significant part of our Fiber Optics group, the Optical Networking sale is yet another step towards our overall commitment to streamlining our business activities to focus on our core markets in wireless and broadband access communication," Loh Kin Wah, a member of Infineon's management board, said in a statement. "In Exar, we have found an excellent company with a mutual interest in supporting our customer base."
