Zoran announced it is buying Microtune for about $166 million.
The announcement comes a few weeks after Intel snapped up TI’s set-top silicon operation. Two years ago, NXP bought Conexant’s set-top chip business.
Zoran will pay $2.92 in cash for each share of Microtune’s common stock. The close of the deal is expected to be in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Microtune is a key supplier of tuners for the set-top box, cable modem, DTV and automotive entertainment markets.
Zoran has a line of set-tops and DTAs. The company said it is increasing its focus on the STB market as part of its strategy “to become a complete provider of solutions for consumer home entertainment, including future generations of cable set-top-boxes.”
The acquisition will also strengthen Zoran’s position in DTV as the market transitions from traditional can tuners to single-chip TV tuners during the next several years.
“We are excited with the opportunity to join forces with the Microtune team to deliver cutting-edge integrated systems for the fast-growing and dynamic STB and DTV markets,” said Ram Ofir, senior vice president and general manager of Zoran’s Home Entertainment Division. “Combining the RF receiver and SoC technologies is designed to provide our customers with a unique value proposition, reducing cost and accelerating time to market.”