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Magnum Semiconductor Completes Acquisition of LSI Consumer Products GroupStrengthens Position as Leading Supplier of ICs, Software and Platforms for Consumer Entertainment SystemsJuly 31, 2007 Milpitas, Calif., July 31, 2007 -- Magnum Semiconductor today announced that the company has completed the acquisition of the LSI consumer products group. Magnum has acquired the DoMiNo® family of DVD and hard disk audio/video recorder processor products, the Domino[X]™ Pro family of media processors for professional encoding, decoding and transcoding of broadcast video, and the ZEVIO™ family of multi-core SOCs for portable devices. According to Dr. Jack Guedj, president and CEO of Magnum, “The digital revolution brings consumers new and exciting ways to enjoy audio and video contents. Whether they obtain it through broadcasts, recorded media, internet downloads, or they create it themselves, consumers want the ability to seamlessly enjoy their favorite A/V materials on any of the TV displays in their home, outside their homes on portable media players, or even on their mobile phones.” He continued, adding: “The key technologies needed to achieve ubiquitous content are found within the growing Magnum product line. By spanning multiple consumer entertainment market segments and the professional broadcast market, we can bring better features and enhanced interoperability to our customers’ products, while making the technology transparent to the user.” Expanding Markets and Product LineThe expanded product line of Magnum Semiconductor will encompass systemon- chip integration of encoding, decoding, and transcoding for standard definition and high definition video formats including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, and VC-1. The company’s product families will serve five related markets:
“Our business and our focus is providing complete IC and software platforms and customization services for manufacturers of consumer electronics products and professional audio/video equipment,” said Dr. Guedj. He added: “Our acquisition of the LSI consumer products group is a significant step in expanding the products and services Magnum offers to customers worldwide.” Continuing Support for Existing CustomersThe definitive agreement for the transaction obligates both Magnum and LSI to ensure a smooth transition for existing customers. All existing products in the DoMiNo and ZEVIO lines will be supported by Magnum going forward. Customer orders and backlog have been transferred to Magnum, along with finished goods and work-inprocess inventories. “LSI has shown a high regard for their customers’ interests, working closely with us to ensure a smooth transition. We are confident that customers of the consumer products group will experience no difficulties with continuity of supply,” noted Dr. Guedj. Transaction Funded by New InvestmentMagnum has financed the transaction with the continued support of its existing investors, led by the company’s August Capital, Investcorp Technology Partners, and Investor Growth Capital. Andy Rappaport, partner in August Capital, said, “Acquiring a business of this scale is a bold move for any private firm. But it takes bold moves to build a world-class company. We see this expansion of Magnum’s product line, market reach, and talent pool as the logical next step in Magnum’s emergence as a leading supplier of consumer A/V technology, and we are pleased to support it.” Savio Tung, head of technology investment for Investcorp, observed, “The field of consumer electronics and entertainment is a significant growth opportunity. This is a strong move by Magnum to expand its market presence. The company has the enthusiastic support of Investcorp Technology Partners.” According to José Suárez, managing director of Investor Growth Capital, “We believe this transaction brings new opportunities, as it brings Magnum to a new level of product breadth and revenues. Successful semiconductor companies benefit from both innovation and scale of operations.” “We are pleased to have the support of our shareholders for scaling up Magnum’s operations and market presence,” noted Dr. Guedj. The current round of financing has been extended to allow participation by all of Magnum’s current investors. About Magnum SemiconductorMagnum Semiconductor is a premier provider of chips, software, reference platforms and engineering support services for recording, viewing and managing highquality audio/video content. Magnum Semiconductor is headquartered in Milpitas, Calif. with sales and engineering offices in Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Further information is available at www.magnumsemi.com. Information on Magnum Semiconductor InvestorsFollowing is information on the principal shareholders in Magnum Semiconductor. August Capital:Founded in 1995, August Capital is a leading venture capital firm that invests in innovative technology companies. August Capital focuses on helping outstanding entrepreneurs build large sustainable companies. August Capital has $1.3 billion under management, and has invested in more than 60 companies including Atheros, Cobalt Networks, Iridigm, Seagate, Shopping.com, Silicon Image, and Tickle. Recent investments ranged from $500,000 to $130 million in information technology businesses from semiconductors to ecommerce. The firm's partners have previously invested in a number of groundbreaking technology companies, including Actel, Adaptec, Cirrus Logic, Compaq, Grand Junction, Intuit, Linear Technology, Microsoft, MMC Networks, Sun Microsystems, Sybase, Symantec, and Visio. August Capital is located in Menlo Park, California. For more information on August Capital, please visit: www.augustcap.com. Gold Hill Capital:Gold Hillis a leading provider of growth capital financing for venture-backed technology and life science companies. Gold Hill enables companies to optimize their finances, using debt and equity to leverage their venture capital and fund their growth. Gold Hill is a shareholder, and has extended debt financing to Magnum as well. Readers are invited to visit: www.goldhillcapital.com. Investcorp Technology PartnersInvestcorp Technology Partners is a leading growth and buyout investor in small and medium-sized technology businesses in North America and Europe. The team focuses on buyout, corporate carve out and take-private transactions, generally investing between $15 million and $40 million of equity. Investcorp Technology Partners is part of Investcorp, a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products with over Magnum Completes Acquisition of LSI Consumer Products $10 billion in invested assets under management. Further information is available at: www.investcorp.com. Investor Growth Capital:Investor Growth Capital is thewholly owned venture capital arm of Investor AB (Investor), the largest publicly listed industrial holding company in the Nordic region. Investor was founded in 1916, and is traded on the Stockholm exchange. Since its formation in the mid-1990s, Investor Growth Capital has invested in high-quality, growth-oriented companies, primarily in the information technology and healthcare industries, in North America, Northern Europe, Japan and China. For more information, please see: www.investorgrowthcapital.com. KTB Ventures:KTB Ventures is the United States operation of KTBnetwork, the largest private equity firm headquartered in Korea. Since the company was established in 1981 KTB has invested in over 400 companies worldwide, including over 40 companies in the U.S. since 1994. Additional information on KTB Ventures can be found at: www.ktbvc.com. WK Technology Fund:WK Technology Fund is a full spectrum cross-Pacific venture capital firm specializing in investments in innovative component, systems, software, and service companies in the communications, semiconductor, IT and Internet, and media sectors. WK Technology Fund was founded in 1989 in Taipei, Taiwan, on the principle of providing strong support to its portfolio companies. WK Technology currently has $500M in evergreen funds under management, and has invested in over 240 companies. WK Technology Fund can be found on the web at: www.wktechfund.com. Media Contacts |
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