Infineon Technologies, Europe’s biggest chipmaker by revenue, is demonstrating its expectations of continued strong growth in electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels, and the Internet of Things (IoT) by purchasing Cree’s Wolfspeed Power subsidiary for $850 million. Wolfspeed specializes in power electronics used in a wide range of key components such as inverters. With this transaction, Infineon is showing that it intends to remain the industry leader for the technologies not only of today, but also of tomorrow.
Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 28-year-old Wolfspeed employs more than 550 highly-skilled workers across ten locations on three continents. The company, which holds (or has pending) more than 1,800 patents, promotes its hardware as providing greater power density and better efficiency than alternatives such as silicon. Power density and efficiency are particularly critical factors in high-voltage energy-intensive applications such as electric vehicles and solar panels.
Frank Plastina, Wolfspeed CEO, said: “By joining the Infineon team, Wolfspeed will now have all the advantages of a global company in our sector, including the ability to leverage Infineon’s market reach and infrastructure. With Infineon’s complementary culture and additional investment, we’ll be better positioned to unlock the potential of our portfolio and our people.”
Infineon ranks No. 69 in the Automotive News list of the 100 largest global suppliers with estimated worldwide sales to automakers of $2.8 billion in 2015.
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