– NordNav is a European company that develops and licenses satellite navigation receivers for GPS for the mobile and defence industries
– Solutions enable high quality location functionality to be built into mobile phones and portable devices, including PDAs, digital cameras and music players
– NordNav’s software defined radio technology runs on a host processor and enables industry leaders TTFF and sensitivity
– CSR (LSE: CSR) is a leading semiconductor company
– CSR’s BlueCore features in over 60% of all qualified Bluetooth enabled products with industry leaders including Apple, Dell, IBM, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba
– CSR is headquartered in the UK, with offices in Japan, China, India, France, Denmark, Sweden and the US
– The acquisition will allow CSR to provide a software-based high performance Global Positioning System suitable for mass-market mobile handsets, Personal Navigation Devices, PCs and other portable devices for an incremental price that falls to less than $1 of the overall bill of materials when used with CSR’s Bluetooth
– CSR can leverage its strong Bluetooth customer base to bring the NordNav solution to a wide community of customers
– GPS functionality will help distinguish CSR’s combined connectivity offering in a very competitive market
– As well as bringing a significant new product offering, the acquisition will provide CSR with additional research and development engineering talent
– NordNav was only at the stage of R&D revenue, but in a very attractive market
– Arma Partners worked with the team to emphasise the synergies NordNav could bring to CSR which would justify a “strategic price”
– Arma Partners was able to focus efforts on an accelerated process that led to the deal closing less than 4 months after the engagement began