Micron considering image sensor biz sale, analyst says

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 7/9/2007

As the Boise, Idaho-based company reels from the $225 million fiscal Q3 net loss it posted last month, Micron Technology Inc. is said to be "considering" spinning off its image sensor business, according to a research note sent today by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) financial analyst Mahesh Sanganeria.

According to the note, Micron is considering selling its image sensor segment to a private equity firm, a move that Sanganeria said would create an "immediate cash infusion" for the struggling company.

The company has been working on ways to regain its profitability in the weeks since its lackluster earnings report, enacting a restructuring plan that includes an unspecified number of job cuts, as well as a tighter 2008 capex at $2.5 billion when compared to 2007’s $4 billion capex.  RBC said it does not expect the cash infusion to change Micron's spending plans.

The sale would signal a major turn-around for the company, which has, contrastingly, been focused on acquisitions. In March 2006, Micron bought flash player Lexar Media Inc. in a stock-for-stock merger; in December, acquired Avago Technologies' image sensor business in a deal valued at $53 million.

Micron would not confirm or deny the veracity of the RBC report. “We’re pursuing a number of initiatives to drive revenue growth across our operations,” Dan Francisco, Micron’s director of global media relations, told Electronic News. “We have no specific comment beyond that.”