Semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics is to acquire Nokia’s wireless modem business for US$200 million in a move targeting the HSPA+ and LTE market sectors. Renesas has been licensing Nokia’s modem in its chipsets since 2009 and the deal is designed to boost Renesas’ credentials in the HSPA+/LTE chipset market. Although the acquisition involves the transfer of around 1,100 Nokia R&D professionals, the vast majority of whom are located in Finland, India, the UK and Denmark, both companies billed the deal as a “strategic business alliance.” A joint statement noted that “the alliance is planned to be enhanced by long-term joint research cooperation on future radio technologies.” The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Nokia’s EVP, Kai Oistamo, commented that the alliance will enable the Finnish vendor to “continue to focus on our own core businesses, connecting people to what matters to them with our mobile products and solutions.” Certainly Nokia is in need of rediscovering its past form, as highlighted yesterday by the firm’s new smartphone boss.

Headquartered in Japan, Renesas Electronics was formed in April this year following a merger between NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology. The merger created the world’s third-largest semiconductor company by revenue. Renesas Technology was a joint venture owned 55 percent by Hitachi and 45 percent by Mitsubishi Electric.