Toumaz : £32.3 million acquisition of Frontier Silicon

Acquires Frontier Silicon on 08.22.2012Toumaz Limited has closed on its acquisition of chip-maker Frontier Silicon.The price of the previously-announced deal was not disclosed.The companies say there’s an alignment of Toumaz’ healthcare, radio and wireless chip technologies and Frontier Silicon’s expertise in semiconductor, module and software systems.Frontier supplies digital audio chips and modules to consumer electronics brands and specializes in Internet-connected and streaming audio. Frontier has R&D centers in the U.K., Hong Kong and China; its customers include Bose, Bang and Olufsen, Pure, Philips, Sony, Panasonic, SiriusXM and Yamaha.The merged U.K.-based entities say they will be able to address high growth markets, specifically healthcare, consumer sport and fitness, digital radio and network audio with wireless semiconductors.The new, merged entity has shipped 17 million digital radio chipsets to date, according to Toumaz, which predicts the market will expand as new areas adopt digital radio.

TOUMAZ EYES FITNESS BOOM VIA £32M FRONTIER SWOOP Monday, 20 August 2012 17:23   Toumaz, a transatlantic pioneer of ultra-low power wireless communications technology has identified massive global opportunities in the fitness and healthcare markets after completing the £32.3 million acquisition of Frontier Silicon in Cambridge UK. The deal completes a neat piece of symmetry for Toumaz CEO Anthony Sethill, who was formerly founder and CEO of Frontier but left in December. Frontier is a market-leading supplier of digital audio chips and modules to global consumer electronic brands, and a leader in internet-connected and streaming audio. It brings important electronic engineering resource to the Group with R & D centres in the UK, Hong Kong and China and a strong customer support focus. Frontier’s customers include Bose, Bang and Olufsen, Pure, Philips, Sony, Panasonic, Sirius XM and Yamaha. There is a strong technological alignment of Toumaz’s healthcare, radio and wireless chip technologies and Frontier’s expertise in semiconductor, module and software systems, which will be integrated to create a genuine total solution provider. Toumaz also has the opportunity to exploit Frontier’s established commercial infrastructure and sales and marketing expertise. The enlarged group will be capable of addressing key high growth markets, specifically professional healthcare, consumer sport and fitness, digital radio and network audio. The Group’s silicon and software roadmap will deliver key solutions for each of its target markets. Sethill said: “Bringing these two innovative UK technology companies together is a very exciting event. Toumaz’s wireless solutions have huge potential and combined with the software systems, commercial expertise and customer access of Frontier, we will create a leading provider of wireless semi-conductor solutions. “These target the healthcare, sport and fitness and consumer electronics sectors, together with our strategic technology partner and shareholder, Imagination Technologies PLC. “The new enlarged group is already the global leader in digital radio solutions, having shipped over 17 million chip sets to date. This market will continue to expand as more territories adopt digital radio and will be further enhanced by the availability of new lower cost, higher performance chipsets, making digital radio more accessible. “Our professional healthcare offering continues to be a key focus for the group with clear market needs to be addressed. Up to 87 per cent of hospitals in the US have stated an interest in installing wireless monitoring technology in the next two to five years and our healthcare product aims to be a key driver in the evolution of healthcare monitoring. The Toumaz ‘Sensium Vitals’ monitoring solution has FDA approval and will shortly start pilots in the US. “By 2016, the global market for wireless sports and fitness monitoring devices is forecast at 120m units and the opportunity to leverage our healthcare capabilities into the consumer arena is significant.”