Cypress sells network search engine business for $12M

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 8/30/2007

Programmable solutions provider Cypress Semiconductor Corp. announced today that it has signed and closed a definitive agreement to sell its network search engine products for the high-volume desktop switching market to knowledge-based processor maker NetLogic Microsystems Inc.

Upon closing, NetLogic Microsystems paid Cypress $12 million in cash plus the cost of inventory.

"The sale of our network search engine assets is part of our overall strategy to focus on programmable products and solutions," T.J. Rodgers, president and CEO of Cypress, said in a statement. "By working with NetLogic Microsystems, the leader in the knowledge-based processor and network search engine market, we are ensuring that our customers will continue to be fully supported with these products moving forward."

The companies said today in a statement that the desktop switching search engines from Cypress will complement NetLogic Microsystems' knowledge-based processing. In addition, NetLogic Microsystems said it expects to leverage significant manufacturing efficiencies to deliver high-volume scalability for its desktop switching search engine family of products.

The sale marks just the latest in several moves that Cypress had made in recent months to streamline its operations and move to a fabless business model. In January, Cypress sold its Silicon Valley Technology Center (SVTC) foundry to two private equity firms for approximately $53 million in cash. In February, Cypress sold its next-generation process development and all manufacturing at 65-nm and below for its core SRAM products to Taiwan-based foundry United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC).  Cypress remains an SVTC customer. In March, the company sold its automotive image sensor business to Sensata Technologies Inc. for an undisclosed amount. In May, Cypress sold its pseudo static random access memory (PSRAM) product line to Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology Inc. for an undisclosed amount. And last month, the company sold a test facility in San Jose to Presto Engineering Inc.