CSR absorbs SiRF GPS chip company

CSR, formerly Cambridge Silicon Radio, has bought SiRF, an American GPS chip company, in a £91 million share transaction giving SiRF shareholders 27 percent of the new enlarged CSR. Two SiRF directors will get seats on the board.

SiRF is best known for its SiRFstar range of GPS chips, which are used by Tom Tom, Garmin, Palm and others. CSR has traditionally specialised in Bluetooth chips, more recently concentrating on highly integrated all-in-one circuits that combine Bluetooth with other radio functions like Wi-Fi and FM reception. Lately, it has been promoting 802.11n for mobile applications, although industry uptake has yet to take off.

The company has confirmed to me that it will continue to be called CSR, and will continue to have its HQ in Cambridge, UK.