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Cree, Inc., Durham, NC, will add radio frequency (RF) assets acquired from Infineon Technologies AG to its Wolfspeed business unit’s wireless market operations. The deal priced at approximately €345 million ($427.6 million) for part of Munich, Germany-based Infineon’s RF Power Business.
Infineon continues to focus on electro-mobility, autonomous driving, renewables and technologies for a connected world, said a joint press release.
The transaction includes Infineon’s main RF facility in Morgan Hill, CA, which includes packaging and test operations, and approximately 260 employees in U.S. facilities in Morgan Hill and Chandler, AZ, as well as staff in Finland, Sweden, China and South Korea.
Infineon and Cree have a long-standing history of collaboration and shared business interests. The acquired Infineon RF Power team and capabilities will complement Wolfspeed’s existing offerings and expertise with additional technology, design, packaging, manufacturing, and customer support, the release said.
Cree management in a February analyst call said it will shift resources to focus more on growing the Wolfspeed business that previous management had sought to divest. The move is partly a response to struggles at its lighting business. The company’s projections show Wolfspeed becoming the company’s largest revenue generator by 2022 where now at $221 million annually (before the Infineon acquisition) it’s less than 15% of Cree’s overall sales.
“The acquisition strengthens Wolfspeed’s leadership position in RF GaN-on-SiC technologies, as well as provides access to additional markets, customers and packaging expertise,” said Cree CEO Gregg Lowe. “This is a key element of Cree’s growth strategy and positions Wolfspeed to enable faster 4G networks and the revolutionary transition to 5G.”