US Qualcomm to Acquire Autonomous Driving Technology Company Vionear

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Qualcomm, a U.S. smartphone semiconductor company accelerating its autonomous driving business, has agreed to acquire Swedish autonomous driving technology company Vionear for $4.5 billion (approximately 5.3325 trillion KRW).

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others on the 4th (local time), Vionear overturned its contract with Magna and came under Qualcomm's control.

Reports state that Qualcomm, in partnership with private equity firm SSW Partners, agreed to acquire Vionear at $37 per share. SSW Partners will purchase Vionear shares and sell the autonomous driving platform development division, Arrival, to Qualcomm.

The acquisition price includes an 18% premium ($800 million) over the price ($31.25 per share) offered by Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna, which signed an acquisition contract in July.

TechCrunch reported that Vionear agreed to pay a penalty of $110 million for terminating the contract with Magna. The contract between Qualcomm and Vionear is expected to be finalized around next year.

Qualcomm established Arrival through a partnership with Vionear last year and has been pushing technology development aiming for road driving in 2024.

Vionear is a Swedish auto parts company that develops autonomous driving software and collaborates with global automakers such as Daimler, Ford, and Honda.

Through this acquisition, Qualcomm plans to expand its business territory beyond smartphones. Cristiano Amon, CEO who took office in June, is exploring entry into the automotive semiconductor business as part of diversification beyond smartphone chips.

Earlier in January, Qualcomm entered the laptop PC market dominated by Intel and AMD by acquiring Chinese smartphone manufacturer Nubia for $1.4 billion.

On this day, Vionear shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange closed at $36.19, up 4.75%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.