As part of the deal, Infineon will take over Wolfspeed’s wafer substrate business, but only the parts related to power and radio chips. Cree will retain control of materials used in LED lighting.
GaN-on-SiC substrates are slowly picking up speed in satellite, telecommunications, and radar systems. Wolfspeed’s foundry can handle the manufacturing of high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) on massive microwave integrated circuits. Gallium-nitride is extremely efficient at handling frequencies up to 80 GHz, which could be used in 5G wireless networks.
The transaction was announced only months after Cree rebranded the business as Wolfspeed, while it worked out the details of the division’s initial public offering. The spinout was an attempt for Cree to focus more closely on its main business of LED lighting. Chuck Swoboda, chief executive of Cree, said that was the same reason why Cree decided to sell.
After the announcement that Wolfspeed would have an initial public offering, several companies made offers to buy the business directly, Swoboda said. “After much consideration and due diligence over the past year, we concluded that selling Wolfspeed to Infineon was the best decision for our shareholders, employees and customers,” he said.
Wolfspeed employs around 550 workers and holds 2,000 patents and patent applications. Infineon plans to complete the acquisition by the end of 2016.
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