Novafora Inc., a startup developer of video processors, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Transmeta Corp. for $255.6 million in cash. Novafora is developing video technology on a chip. Word on the street is that the technology is very ‘hot’. The video market is in the need for faster processing at the chip level. Right now video adoption is huge and the capabilities for moving video online is stunted by the capabilities in processing power.
Innovation coming from startups again and getting assets from Transmeta will help Novafora.
The acquisition agreement provides, among other things, that Transmeta may not enter into any future licensing transaction prior to closing of the merger without Novafora’s consent. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2009. After the closing of the merger, Transmeta’s common stock will cease to trade.
Formed in 2004, Novafora is a video processor company enabling OEMs to deliver on the promise of the digital video revolution. Zaki Rakib is CEO and co-founder of the startup. Before Novafora, Zaki co-founded Terayon Communication Systems in 1993.
Shlomo Rakib is chairman, CTO and co-founder of the firm. He also co-founded Terayon and served as its chairman and CTO. At Terayon, he is said to have invented the S-CDMA technology that fueled Terayon’s initial success and which was incorporated into the widely-adopted DOCSIS 2.0 cable data standard.
Silicon Valley Technology Blog - John Furrier 