AMD selling its TV-chip unit to Broadcom for a cool $192.8 million in cash

AMD wasn't kidding around about trimming and down and driving hard after profitability. The company just struck up a deal with Broadcom to swap its TV-chip unit for $192.8 million in cash to help fight debt and seek out profitability. Broadcom is getting 530 AMD employees out of the deal and AMD's considerable experience in the digital TV chipset game, which will become the "core" of Broadcom's line in that market. The deal should close by the end of the year, and is unrelated to AMD's efforts to spin off its foundry biz.

[Thanks, Keith L]

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Aug 25th 2008 12:43PM]

So you say cash in the headline... then again in the story.


Why "in cash?"

[Blaine Oliver @ Aug 25th 2008 12:45PM]

As in money they can pay off debt with, rather than stocks or advertising money?

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Aug 25th 2008 1:14PM]

Or food stamps and Dave & Buster's credits.

[Fanfoot @ Aug 25th 2008 3:31PM]

Or a player to be named later

[tom @ Aug 25th 2008 3:50PM]

Cash is King dude!. Who wants shares of somebody when the value fluctuate or IOU when you don't even you'll get cash in the future.

Good job AMD, focus on what's core technology, CPU/GPU!

[SignalEye @ Aug 25th 2008 12:47PM]

Why did they Have to sell it to BroadComm..Just the company with low end Tech...
They could sell it to NVidia perhaps, or some other good company with good vision in Technology. Try for example...Pinnacle..
I dont know...But this is just something that doens`t go.
We`ll see what Broadcom will come up with this Chip now.

[Minilap @ Aug 25th 2008 12:51PM]

lol, It's more have to do with price and conditions, whoever pays more...

[Ryan Trevisol @ Aug 25th 2008 2:00PM]

Hmmm, the owner of ATI selling off part of their operations to NVidia. That makes MUCH more sense.

[Fanfoot @ Aug 25th 2008 3:29PM]

Really? You're this stupid?

Broadcom is a very good chip company, and sells their chips to all sorts of 3rd party hardware suppliers, so they're an obvious target for something like this. If ATI/AMD wants to continue building the just-announced All-In-Wonder cards they can, they'll just be using Broadcom's chips in the future where once those chips were ATI's.

Nvidia on the other hand is ATI's direct competitor. So they'd be selling something they spent a lot of time and money developing to their direct competitor, who presumably wouldn't be all that nuts about selling the chips back to them. Nor in paying a good price for it. And likely already have their own solutions based on different technology. And and and.

Pinnacle? Pinnacle was bought by Avid a few years back, and Avid is only worth like $800M so it might be somewhat difficult for them to come up with $200M for this. Meanwhile, BRCM is worth some $13B?

[sam @ Aug 25th 2008 12:49PM]

Didnt realise AMD was in the tv-chip business, what exactly do they currently do? thought they just did cpu's and graphics cards? The just released an All in Wonder tv card, thats all i know of their tv business.

[Blaine Oliver @ Aug 25th 2008 1:11PM]

They also do their own chipsets.

[Mainomega @ Aug 25th 2008 1:38PM]

Tivo, and 90% of cable/satelite boxes use ATI chips. When it comes to quality ATI is the best one... but i guess they need the money.

[1234321 @ Aug 25th 2008 1:36PM]

no first off it's ATi's former business
AMD makes CPUs
there GPU (Desktop, Laptop, and Mobile), Chipset, TV, Multimedia, and GPGPU businesses were all aquired from ATi
ATi had a little known business for making chipsets for HDTVs called ATi Xilleon (you can still see ATi stickers on some Olevia HDTVs for example), that's the business they are talking about

[1234321 @ Aug 25th 2008 1:38PM]

It's not what you think, its the Xilleon brand taken from ATi, some ATi stickers still exist on Olevia HDTVs

[James @ Aug 25th 2008 1:05PM]

If there's anyone who needs cash these days, it's MAD, sorry, AMD

[Bosco @ Aug 25th 2008 1:11PM]

Think how much cocaine Henry Nicholas could have bought with $192.8 million. On the bright side, he will have 530 fresh faces to party with!

[kal326 @ Aug 25th 2008 2:08PM]

About time Engagdet posted something I sent in. I think I'm starting to like the new chief more already.

[AlphaTeam @ Aug 25th 2008 2:24PM]

I hope AMD didn't just sell off the great AVIVO stuff to Broadcom.

[Crayola @ Aug 25th 2008 2:55PM]

Anyone knows about Broadcom interest in Microtune?

[zmjjmz @ Aug 25th 2008 3:05PM]

Only thing I'm worried about is Linux compatibility.
As we all know, Broadcom doesn't play nice with Linux.
But, when AMD acquired ATi they GPL'd the Radeon drivers for Linux developers.
So AMD's TV chipsets, which might of had a future in Mythboxen, might no longer be capable of that future.

[Chris @ Aug 25th 2008 6:07PM]

My thoughts exactly. There goes linux support.

But it is interesting, I believe all of the tivo boxes use ATI / AMD chips, and tivo is built on linux. So, maybe there's a cold chance in hell that Broadcom will play nice with linux.

[ChuckM @ Aug 25th 2008 3:50PM]

My original all-in-wonder didn't have XP support...

So for my newer computer I bought an All-In-Wonder x1900... TV functions don't work in Vista...

ATI/AMD's support for their products sucks... I can understand 2 generation or older of OS having no support... but now that they've sold of their investment in their own chips...

So for my next computer, I will stay away from ATI's TV products... heck, might even not buy another ATI product ever... Twice bitten..

[QuadwinG @ Aug 26th 2008 1:15AM]

Sure hope this doesn't turnaround and bite AMD/ATI in the ass 8-10 yrs. down the road if they are still around.

[Kikomen @ Aug 26th 2008 3:32AM]

Well i guess their dismantling Ati piece by piece, pretty soon nothings gonna be left of them :/