Nvidia pulls plug from 4G modem branch

Nvidia is unable to find a buyer for Icera. Although the company had previously indicated that it wanted to sell the business that makes 3g and 4g modems, the company is now taking its money’s worth and simply stopping.

Nvidia acquired Icera four years ago for $367 million in an effort to better compete with Qualcomm, the market leader in such modem technology. However, the resulting Tegra 4i was hardly in demand. Earlier this year, the company announced that Icera was being put up for sale and that the company would be dismantled if no buyer was found.

At the presentation of the quarterly figures on Thursday evening, the company announced that this will now happen. Icera employs 500 people, mainly in the United Kingdom and France. The dismantling costs Nvidia more than 100 million dollars on paper; the company is writing off 19 cents per share.