Intersil Corporation (ticker: ISIL, exchange: NASDAQ Global Market (.O))
News Release -
24-Feb-2003
Intersil and ParthusCeva Announce Wireless LAN Licensing Partnership; Industry Leaders Combine WLAN and Licensing Expertise For 802.11 IP Solutions
MILPITAS & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2003--
Intersil Corporation (Nasdaq:ISIL), a world leader in the design
and manufacture of high performance analog and wireless networking
solutions, and ParthusCeva, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCVA) (LSE:PCV), the leading
licensor of digital signal processors (DSP) and applications-specific
platform Intellectual Property (IP), announced today a partnership to
license Intersil's 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) IP to
third parties.
"This partnership is a very significant development which will
accelerate the deployment of WLAN technology across both business and
consumer applications. Intersil is the acknowledged leader in 802.11
wireless solutions and ParthusCeva has a proven track record of
delivering complex wireless technology under an IP licensing model,"
said Allen Nogee, senior analyst at In-Stat/MDR. "This unique
combination can unlock the enormous potential of WLAN technology."
ParthusCeva will provide wireless IP expertise, sales, marketing
and customer support in licensing Intersil's 802.11 Prism(R)
Intellectual Property (Baseband Processor and Medium Access
Controller) to the electronics industry. PRISM solutions are the
number one deployed 802.11 WLAN technology in the industry. In
addition, Intersil will supply PHY (radio front-end) products and
reference designs -- delivering a complete WLAN product solution to
licensees. This up-integration strategy will enable new,
wireless-capable products that will serve growing consumer demand for
wireless connectivity wherever they live, work or play.
"The licensing of our WLAN IP is one of the next steps in
addressing the needs of a growing market in which Wi-Fi is becoming
pervasive and working its way into a diverse and exciting set of
applications. Some of these applications required the full integration
of the digital portion of the chip set," said Larry Ciaccia, vice
president and general manager of Intersil's Wireless Networking
Product Group. "ParthusCeva's experience in delivering complex
wireless IP solutions to the semiconductor industry is a perfect
complement to Intersil's WLAN expertise. Together we can generate even
greater market penetration with PRISM based technology."
"ParthusCeva is a recognized leader in the licensing of
wireless-IP and we wanted a partner with silicon proven,
brand-recognized 802.11 IP to complement our customer base of leading
semiconductor companies," said Kevin Fielding, chief executive officer
of ParthusCeva. "Intersil is the recognized wireless networking leader
and this new partnership will provide a convenient one-stop shop for
WLAN manufacturers to add valuable IP support to their product
portfolio."
The Intersil and ParthusCeva partnership delivers four powerful
advantages to customer licensees:
-
Intersil and ParthusCeva deliver the most complete product
portfolio of 802.11 a/b/g solutions.
-
Licensees receive industry leading WLAN technology, which is
both silicon verified and proven interoperable in the field --
a unique industry proposition.
-
By leveraging the embedded/IP strategy, licensees can
significantly reduce WLAN bill of materials to effectively
broaden the range of products and markets that can be WLAN
connected.
-
Licensees can slash both development cost and time-to-market
for WLAN enabled products by using the complete WLAN solution
including digital/analog IP, radio front-end and reference
designs.
About ParthusCeva
Headquartered in San Jose, with principal offices in Dublin,
Ireland and Herzeliah, Israel, ParthusCeva (NASDAQ: PCVA; LSE: PCV) is
a leading licensor of DSP and application-specific platform
Intellectual Property (IP) to the semiconductor industry. ParthusCeva
was created through the combination of Parthus Technologies plc, a
leading provider of application-specific platform IP, and Ceva,
formerly the licensing division of DSP Group, Inc. The CUSIP number
for the ParthusCeva common stock is 70212E106 and the ISIN number is
70212E1064.
About Intersil
Intersil Corporation is a global semiconductor leader in the
design and manufacture of high performance analog and wireless
networking solutions. Intersil's product portfolios address four fast
growing markets -- flat panel displays, optical storage (CD and DVD
recordable), power management and wireless networking. Intersil brings
added customer value in providing complete silicon, software and
reference design solutions to new products that enhance the computing
experience for people wherever they live, work or travel. For more
information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of
our winning team, visit the company's web site and career page at:
http://www.intersil.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined
in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are
based upon Intersil Corporation's ("Intersil") management's current
expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, and projections about
Intersil's business and industry. Words such as "anticipates,"
"expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks,"
"estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "potential,"
"continue," and variations of these words (or negatives of these
words) or similar expressions, are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to
expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events
or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks,
uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely
from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of
various risk factors. Important risk factors that may cause such
material differences for Intersil's WLAN product group include, but
are not limited to: the slowdown in the technology sector generally
and the semiconductor industry specifically; our ability to
successfully deploy our up integration strategy; the rate at which
consumers adopt small handheld Internet appliances and portable
computing devices in enterprises and in homes; the rate at which
consumers purchase small handheld Internet appliances, portable
computing devices, and notebook computers with embedded wireless; the
rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt
Intersil's wireless access technologies; the timing, rescheduling or
cancellation of significant customer orders; the ability of our
customers to manage inventory; the loss of a key customer; the
qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and
technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our
products; silicon wafer pricing and the availability and quality of
our foundry capacity and raw materials; availability, pricing, and
quality of third party foundry and assembly and test capacity and raw
materials; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party
foundries and assembly and test facilities, and other problems or
delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our
products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at
new fabrication and assembly and test facilities; problems or delays
that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process
technologies; the effectiveness of Intersil's expense and product cost
control and reduction efforts; the risks inherent in acquisitions,
including the acquisition of Elantec Semiconductor, Inc. (including
integration issues; costs and unanticipated expenditures; changing
relationships with customers, suppliers, and strategic partners;
potential contractual, employment, and intellectual property issues;
or that the anticipated benefits of the acquisition are not realized);
intellectual property disputes, customer indemnification claims, and
other litigation risks; Intersil's ability to develop, market, and
transition to volume production new products and technologies in a
timely manner; the quality of Intersil's products and any repair or
replacement costs; the risks and uncertainties associated with
Intersil's global operations, particularly in light of the war on
terrorism; the effects of natural disasters, international conflicts
and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received and
the ability to fill those orders in a given fiscal quarter; and other
factors. Intersil's Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other
Intersil filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") (which you may obtain for free at the SEC's web site at
www.sec.gov) discuss some of the important risk factors that may
affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this
communication and Intersil undertakes no obligation to update or
revise these forward-looking statements.
PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Americas Inc.
All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their
respective owners.
--30--GAA/mi*
| CONTACT: |
Intersil Corporation, Palm Bay, Fla. |
| |
Ron Paciello, 321/724-7184 |
| |
E-mail: rpaciell@intersil.com |
| |
or |
| |
Ketchum |
| |
Kevin Oates, 310/584-8331 |
| |
E-mail: kevin.oates@ketchum.com |
| |
or |
| |
ParthusCeva Inc. |
| |
Barry Nolan, +353-1-4025700 |
| |
E-mail: barry.nolan@parthusceva.com |
| |
or |
| |
Ruder Finn PR |
| |
Josh Shuman, +972-2-561-2005 |
| |
E-mail: josh@ruderfinn.co.il |
|
|
|