Broadcom Seeks Buyer for RF Wireless-Chip Unit

By Cara Lombardo and Dana Cimilluca 

Broadcom Inc. is looking to sell one of its wireless-chip units, a move that would accelerate the company's shift away from its roots as a semiconductor maker.

Broadcom is working with Credit Suisse Group AG to find a buyer for its radio-frequency, or RF, unit, a segment of its wireless-chip business that makes filters used in cellphones to clarify signals, according to people familiar with the matter.

The unit had $2.2 billion in revenue in Broadcom's 2019 fiscal year and is one of the original businesses of predecessor company Avago. It could be worth $10 billion, some of the people said, but it isn't clear if that's achievable and there may not be a deal. The process is at an early stage, the people said.

Broadcom obliquely referred to the move when it reported results last week, saying it was reclassifying its wireless units as outside its core semiconductor business.

On a conference call to discuss results, Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan called the wireless businesses "stand-alone franchises" that don't fully mesh with the company's other operations.

Broadcom, historically known for semiconductors that go into cellphones and networking equipment, in recent years has pushed into the more lucrative software business through two big acquisitions. It paid $18.9 billion for CA Technologies Inc. in 2018 and recently closed a deal to buy Symantec Corp.'s corporate business for $10.7 billion. The push into software came after the company was thwarted in an effort to buy Qualcomm Inc. for more than $100 billion.

--Asa Fitch contributed to this article.

Write to Cara Lombardo at [e-mail] and Dana Cimilluca at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2019 13:39 ET (18:39 GMT)

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