I can’t say how this relates to Apple jumping ship and switching to Intel processors, but anyway: Remember that company, Freescale, which was spun off from Motorola Inc. in 2004?

THAT Motorola, that used to make the hearts of our Macs?

Well, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has just agreed to be bought for $17.6 billion, or $40 a share in cash, by a private equity consortium that includes Carlyle Group, Permira Funds, Texas Pacific Group, and Blackstone Group.

This is said to be the biggest leveraged buyout ever of a technology company. The deal price offers a 36 percent premium over Freescale’s 30-days average closing price.

The agreement allows Freescale to solicit alternative proposals for the next 50 days. If the company accepts a superior proposal, it will have to pay a break-up fee of either $150 million or $300 million depending on the timing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 28th, 2006 at 1:22 am and is filed under Apple News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.