Rumour: Freescale investigating takeover

The American chip company Freescale would have investment banks investigate the possibilities for a sale, reports The New York Post. It is not known which company is interested, but in previous rumors an analyst mentioned Samsung as a possible candidate.

The New York Post cites a source “close to the situation” for the claim about the takeover talks. It is unclear at what stage the negotiations are now. The magazine refers to an earlier report from Bloomberg, in which an analyst firm names Freescale as a candidate for a takeover by Samsung.

Samsung could use the chip company to gain a foothold in the Internet-of-things market. Samsung could also acquire chip company Atmel for this, according to the analysts. Freescale was part of Motorola until 2004. The company has 17,000 employees in 19 countries. The group makes chips for the automotive industry, e-readers and wireless chargers. Also because of the latter it would be an interesting party for Samsung.