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San Mateo, Calif. - Philips Semiconductors last week purchased Western Digital Corp.'s $100 million Multimedia Products Unit (MPU), revealing plans to transform itself from a consumer electronics giant into a multimedia PC powerhouse.
Philips said the acquisition gives it control of key PC multimedia products, including Western Digital's RocketCHIP graphics controller line and its Paradise add-in board business. A major player in consumer electronics ICs, Philips presently offers controllers, video processors, digital audio chips, and MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 decoders targeted at television, set-top box, and radio applications. However, until now, Philips has offered no PC graphics controllers.
"We're happy to acquire from Western Digital what we think is the best...