Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

[khemara_qc]

Qualcomm to buy Trigenix as it aims for Europe
Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:19 AM ET
(Adds confirmation from both companies, updates takeover price, details on competition)
By Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent

AMSTERDAM, Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. mobile phone technology company Qualcomm (QCOM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it will buy Britain's mobile software firm Trigenix for $36 million in a move to get more business from wireless operators in Europe. Confirming a Reuters story, Qualcomm's Internet Services President Peggy Johnson said in a telephone interview Qualcomm had planned to break the news late on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"Qualcomm will pay $36 million in cash," she said.

British venture capital company 3i (III.L: Quote, Profile, Research) invested a total 5 million pounds ($8.93 million) in 2000 and 2001 for an undisclosed stake in Trigenix and Stephen Ives, chief executive of Trigenix, said it would make a very good return.

Qualcomm sells chips, technology and software for the CDMA cellular phone technology it has invented. It has tried to move into the much bigger market for GSM cell phones which is used by operators around the world, but so far without much success.

It hopes to benefit from a combination with Trigenix, which already supplies its software to 14 operators such as Germany's T-Mobile [TMOG.UL](DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Britain's 3 (0013.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) .

Four-year old Trigenix sells software which lets mobile operators adjust menus on standard handsets, making them stand out from the same brand handsets that are sold by competitors.

"Trigenix was one of the first companies that recognised how important the user interface on the mobile phone was going to become," said Copenhagen-based telecoms consultant John Strand.

Trigenix competes with SurfKitchen and Action Engine.


GETTING MORE SERIOUS

The two companies have been working together since June, when Trigenix said it would write a software version to work with Qualcomm's BREW software package.

"We can achieve closer (software) integration through this takeover," Ives said.

Johnson said operators have indicated they want software from both companies. "We're much more powerful together than if we go separately," she said.

Trigenix and Qualcomm have been negotiating the takeover for months, according to people familiar with the deal.

So far BREW is only in trials with some European operators.

Qualcomm hopes to get a foot in the door at GSM operators as they move to fast, third generation (3G) Wideband-CDMA networks (W-CDMA) for video calls and other data services. Because of its CDMA background, Qualcomm has an opportunity to sell chips for W-CDMA handsets. These chips have BREW software built in, which can be turned on or not, depending on operators' wishes.

Qualcomm's BREW will compete with mobile software from British Symbian, backed by the major handset makers, U.S.-based Microsoft (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and several others which all hope that the move to 3G will create a need for smarter software on handsets.

BREW and Trigenix software runs on handsets with modest amounts of computing power as well as expensive mobile phones.


© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh40077_2004-10-12_15-19-37_l12...