THALWIL, Switzerland, Feb. 25, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- u-blox Holding AG today announced that u-blox AG has entered into an agreement, subject to the fulfillment of customary closing condition, to acquire Neonseven SpA, headquartered in Sgonico near Trieste, Italy, for up to Euro 9.3 million, fully paid in cash. Neonseven is a design house for wireless telecommunications devices for consumer, automotive and industrial OEMs.
Neonseven has extensive experience in providing wireless communications solutions and offers services in the area of component evaluation, platform and feature development, testing services, product support and product maintenance. Since its foundation in 2003, Neonseven cooperates closely with Infineon in the design and development of products, platforms and in the testing of components.
With the acquisition, u-blox intends to expand its product offering with GSM/GPRS cellular modem applications, adding a comprehensive portfolio of wireless communications solutions for its customers. Such modems function as the core element in fleet management, asset tracking and automotive safety applications - markets where u-blox is a leading supplier of GPS positioning solutions.
The acquisition of Neonseven brings a number of benefits to u-blox: A highly motivated team with extended GSM know-how will make u-blox uniquely positioned to serve the global telematics market immediately with a broader product portfolio, offering more value to existing and new customers. The acquisition will further accelerate the implementation of u-blox's strategy of strengthening its position in the portable devices market, including mobile internet devices and notebooks.
Thomas Seiler, CEO of u-blox, stated: "We believe the addition of Neonseven will assist us in further building our expertise and increasing our market position. The team and its product offerings fit well into our existing operations, as the company is very complementary to us. It is a natural extension of our focus to expand beyond GPS and into GSM technology. Together, we will be able to drive the development of new and compelling products."
"We are very excited about becoming a part of a well-established and innovative technology company with a global presence. Joining u-blox will allow us to extend our market reach and realize the full potential of our product design offering and service capabilities, now and into the future," said Demir Rakanovic, CEO of Neonseven.
u-blox will host a press conference in German tomorrow, Thursday, 26 February 2009 at 11.00am CET, at the Swissotel Zurich, Oerlikon. For those unable to join the press conference, telephone interviews can be arranged between 14-16pm at the same day.
For additional information, please see the presentation on our website: http://www.u-blox.com/investors/IR_presentations.html
About u-blox
u-blox is a fabless semiconductor positioning solutions provider for the automotive, mobile communications and infrastructure markets. u-blox develops chips and complete modules based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) including GPS and GALILEO. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Switzerland, the u-blox group is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has offices in the USA, in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. For more information, please visit www.u-blox.com.
About Neonseven
Neonseven SpA is a design house for wireless telecommunication devices. Neonseven employs 55 experts with a profound knowledge of GSM and 3G technology in the area of mobile communication. Neonseven has excellent skills in HW development, SW development and integration, debugging, testing and product certification and has successfully completed various projects. Located in Trieste, Italy, and founded in 2003, Neonseven generated 2008 revenues of Euro 4.4 million. For more information, please visit www.neonseven.com
To arrange a telephone interview, please contact: Gitte Jensen, Corporate Communications Manager Phone: +41 (44) 722 74 86, e-mail: gitte.jensen@u-blox.com
Disclaimer
This publication may contain certain forward-looking statements, which can contain statements regarding acquisitions, new projects or potential future revenues or strategy, plans or intentions. All forward-looking statements are based only on data, appraisals and assumptions made and available to u-blox at the time of the preparation of such information. The actual situation and results can be materially different from forward-looking statements. u-blox does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.
The press release is published in English and German. Should the German translation differ from the English original, the English version is binding.