Surges on Apple Acquisition Report22 Mar 2016 13:03
U.K.'s IMG designs chips for iPhone, iPad graphics processors
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Technology news site Ars Technica first reported the talks
A report by technology website Ars Technica that Apple Inc. may be in talks to acquire British graphics chipmaker Imagination Technologies Group Plc caused shares of the Kings Langley-based company to rise as much as 16 percent Tuesday morning in London trading.
Imagination, which is already more than 8 percent owned by Apple, had a market value of 508.7 million pounds ($732.4 million) as of Monday’s close, before the spike in its shares.
"Apple wants to drive the innovation of the technology development rather than wait for others to catch up with their semiconductor ambitions," said Neil Campling, an analyst at Aviate Global in London.
For Apple, buying a maker of graphics processing units already used in its iPhones and iPads would bring even more chip expertise under the Cupertino, California-based company’s roof. Apple bought CPU maker PA Semi in 2008, leading to the central processing chips used in today’s iPhones and iPads. Making a bid for Imagination could similarly let Apple control graphics features and efficiency by designing its own architecture.
"It makes strategic sense for Apple to bring the GPU design in-house," Campling wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. "Controlling every aspect of its processors could let Apple further optimize the efficiency and power consumption of its devices."