Contactless chip provider INSIDE
Contactless is to buy Atmel’s Secure Microcontroller Solutions
(SMS) business.

The motivation for the acquisition is to meet
the growing global demand for solutions in the payment, NFC mobile
commerce, and the electronic identification markets, the business
said.

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The transaction is expected to close in the
third quarter of this year, however French law states that Atmel
must obtain authorisation from its board of directors before the
proposed purchase agreement can be closed.

“Atmel’s Secure Microcontroller Solutions
business offers INSIDE the opportunity to acquire unique people,
skills and technologies to reinforce our leadership in the smart
card and secure transaction devices market,” said Rémy de Tonnac,
chief executive officer for Aix-en-Provence, France-based INSIDE
Contactless. 

“Combining these businesses has the potential
to be a game-changing event in the smart card industry. It will
create a pure-play fabless semiconductor leader singularly focused
on the secure transactions market.”

The transaction will be financed by existing
INSIDE Contactless investors led by Gimv and Sofinnova Partners,
Atmel themselves and French sovereign wealth fund, Fonds
Stratégique d’Investissement (FSI).

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“INSIDE Contactless is a global leader in
contactless technologies and NFC, and the acquisition of Atmel’s
SMS business unit will enable the company to strengthen its
position in its current markets, and accelerate its presence in
new, fast-growing areas,” said Jérôme Gallot, FSI’s director.

“FSI is pleased to join INSIDE’s current
investors to enable this important acquisition.”

The resulting organisation will be the largest
fabless semiconductor company in France, and one of the largest in
Europe. A fabless semiconductor company is one which specialises in
the design and sale of hardware devices, but does not manufacture
or “fabricate” the product themselves.