TPC, Blackstone consortium to buy Freescale for $16B?

The NYT is reporting that a consortium of investment firms are near a deal to buy Freescale Semiconductor, a former unit of Motorola, for more than $16 billion, which would be the largest buyout ever in the tech industry.

The talks illustrate the increased appetite of private equity firms for the technology industry, a sector shunned for years by financiers because it was considered too volatile. But as technology companies have matured and private equity firms have begun to look for companies that are not simply stable, but also growing, more and more deals are taking place.

The heart of Freescale’s business is in making specialized, or “embedded,” chips that provide intelligence for things as varied as automotive engines and cellphones.

The consortium of investors in talks to acquire Freescale include Texas Pacific Group, Blackstone Group and Permira, these people said. It is possible that the Carlyle Group and Bain Capital could also join the group.

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