Atmel sells Grenoble unit, wafer fab

SAN FRANCISCO — Seeking to cut costs, Atmel Corp. Thursday (July 13) said that it has signed an agreement to sell its Grenoble, France subsidiary and the wafer fab to e2v technologies plc for approximately $140 million in cash.

Under the terms, Atmel will retain rights to its patented finger print scanning recognition technology. All other Grenoble products, including image sensors and aerospace qualified microprocessors, will be part of the sale. The transaction is expected to be completed during Atmel's third quarter.

The move will enable struggling Atmel (San Jose, Calif.) to cut costs. In recent times, Atmel invested in too much fab capacity, causing in part a string of financial losses.

"This is an important step in Atmel's plan to consolidate its manufacturing operations as we continue to focus resources on our core technologies," said George Perlegos, chairman and chief executive of Atmel, in a statement.

Last year, Atmel agreed to sell its Nantes, France fab to XbyBus, a France-based components supplier.

e2v (Chelmsford, U.K.) is a supplier of electronic tube and sensor components. In a statement, Keith Attwood, chief executive of e2v, said: "We believe Atmel Grenoble is a great strategic fit for e2v and provides opportunities to extend our reach into existing market sectors with a broader range of products."