Decawave, an Ireland-based indoor location technology provider backed by electronics producer LG and semiconductor manufacturer ST Electronics, has agreed to an acquisition by semiconductor technology provider Qorvo.
Financial terms of the transaction were not revealed by either party, but the Irish Times reported the deal was sized at approximately $400m.
Qorvo’s chief financial officer, Mark Murphy, told the Irish Independent the deal was an all-cash transaction, and that it had spent a total of $500m on buying Decawave and US-based chipmaker Custom MMIC, a deal announced concurrently.
Founded in 2007, Decawave produces semiconductors and software that facilitate real-time precise indoor positioning. It also provides modules and reference designs for clients to develop applications and reduce their time to market.
The company’s impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) technology has already been used in millions of smartphones and cars, and across more than 40 verticals, and it hopes the deal will drive international market adoption and accelerate technology development and product launches.
Qorvo meanwhile expects the acquisition to bolster opportunities in the mobile, automotive and internet-of-things sectors.
Decawave had received a total of $60m in equity financing ahead of the acquisition. It most recently raised $30m in a funding round led by Atlantic Bridge Ventures in early 2018 that was also backed by ZZ Ventures and China Ireland Growth Technology Fund.
ST Electronics supplied $2.6m in capital for the company in 2017, and LG provided an undisclosed amount in 2010. Decawave’s shareholders also include Enterprise Ireland, Hban, Select Capital, Act Venture Capital, Summit Bridge and assorted angel investors.
