诺基亚无线调制解调器业务转手意外多多

诺基亚(Nokia)以2亿美元价格将无线调制解调器(wireless modem)业务转手瑞萨(Renesas)的信息，让苏格兰皇家银行(Royal Bank of Scotland)的欧洲科技产业研究部门主管Didier Scemama颇感震惊……

虽然诺基亚已经逐步剥离硬件设计业务，因此该交易本身并不算是意外，但Scemama在发送给客户的分析报告中指出，考虑到英特尔(Intel)与诺基亚最近在芯片组以及MeeGo操作系统方面的密切合作，瑞萨是个令人意外的买主，而2亿美元的收购价格似乎稍嫌低了一些。

“我们曾认为英特尔自然会成为该业务的买主；目前的观点则是诺基亚与英特尔在芯片组方面的合作关系可能会终止──虽然看来不太可能在现阶段──或是英特尔打算利用另一桩收购来取得领先的协议堆栈，而最可能对象仍是传言的英飞凌(Infineon)。”Scemama表示。

他接着指出：“对于英特尔错过并购诺基亚调制解调器业务、也尚未签署任何协议买下英飞凌无线业务的原因，我们仍感到疑惑──特别是瑞萨的收购价仅只如此。”

近期业界消息指出，英特尔在5月底以3,000万美元收购了以色列通信芯片供货商Comsys Mobile Communication and Signal Processing；后者的专长是2G与WiMax技术，因此这桩收购案仅单纯显示英特尔在以色列网罗了一群具经验的无线设计工程师。

Scemama并指出，与诺基亚的交易对瑞萨来说是一大助力，对英特尔、英飞凌、意法(ST)、ST-Ericsson与Imagination Technologies Group等业者也影响深远。

瑞萨是日本市场的领导级3G芯片组供货商，其平台在日本以外的市场销售表现却不佳；一旦与身为手机龙头的诺基亚建立长期合作与供应关系，将让瑞萨能走出日本市场，甚至更加强化其市场地位。

对与瑞萨有密切合作关系的Imagination来说，这桩交易也是有利的；但Scemama表示，对ST来说则不是个好消息，因为该公司旗下的ST-Ericsson势必面临更多竞争威胁。

(参考原文：Analyst: Nokia's modem move hints at Intel-Infineon done deal，by Peter Clarke )

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Analyst: Nokia's modem move hints at Intel-Infineon done deal

by Peter Clarke

The move by Nokia to dispose of its wireless modem operations to Renesas has surprised Didier Scemama, head of European Technology Research with Royal Bank of Scotland.

Given that Nokia has been progressively getting out of hardware design the sale itself is not the surprise. But in a note to clients Scemama said that, given the recent close cooperation between Intel and Nokia on chipsets and in efforts such as the MeeGo operating system, Renesas was a surprise buyer and the price of $200 million seems low.

"We thought Intel would have been a natural buyer of this asset. Our view is that either the relationship with Nokia on the chipset side could be terminated — which seems unlikely at this stage — or that Intel plans to acquire another company to give it access to a leading protocol stack. The most obvious candidate remains Infineon," Scemama said. "We wonder why Intel would pass on the opportunity to acquire Nokia's modem capabilities without having signed an agreement to buy Infineon's wireless division — especially at such a modest price."

Intel is rumored to have acquired Comsys Mobile Communication and Signal Processing Ltd. (Herzelia, Israel) for $30 million in late May. However, Comsys expertise seems to be in 2G and WiMax and the purchase may simply show Intel picking up skilled engineers based in Israel. "Comsys' 80 employees will join Intel's major wireless R&D centers in Haifa and Petah Tikva," according to Will Strauss, president of market research firm Forward Concepts, in an e-mail newsletter.

The Nokia deal is a boost for Renesas and also significant for Intel, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, ST-Ericsson and Imagination Technologies Group plc, Scemama said. Renesas is the leading 3G chipset supplier in Japan but has struggled to sell its platforms outside Japan. A long-term deal to work with and supply Nokia, still the world's leading handset supplier, allows Renesas to break out of Japan even as it is strengthening its position there.

The deal is positive for Imagination because it has strong ties to Renesas, but negative for STMicroelectronics, because of increased competition for its ST-Ericsson subsidiary, Scemama said.