Imagination Technologies
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| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Traded as | LSE: IMG |
| Industry | Technology |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, UK |
| Key people | Geoff Shingles (Chairman) Sir Hossein Yassaie (CEO) John Metcalfe (COO) |
| Products | "System-on-Chip" "Intellectual Property" "Digital Radio" |
| Revenue | £127.5 million (2012)[1] |
| Operating income | £28.4 million (2012)[1] |
| Net income | £20.5 million (2012)[1] |
| Employees | 900 (2011)[1] |
| Divisions | Technology, PURE Digital |
| Website | www.imgtec.com |
Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE: IMG) is a British-based maker of a mobile graphics and microprocessor chip technology primarily known for its PowerVR graphics and Pure DAB radio divisions. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
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History [edit]
The Company was founded in 1985 as VideoLogic and originally focused on graphics, sound acceleration, home audio systems, video-capture and video-conferencing systems.[2]
It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 1994.[3] The following year it entered into a licensing agreement over its PowerVR technology with NEC (now Renesas) who took a 2.29% stake in the Company for £1.6 million and acquired the rights to manufacture and sell the chip.[4] On 2 December 1997, NEC subscribed 2.3 million (1.5%) new shares at a price of 56.5p, taking its total stake to 3.5%.[5] In 1999 the Company refocused on intellectual property licensing generally and changed its name to Imagination Technologies.[2]
On 23 March 2000, Imagination Technologies acquired Ensigma, a private company specialising in Digital Signal Processing, for a maximum consideration of £5 million.[6]
On 26 September 2001, Imagination Technologies acquired Cross Products Limited, a company designing and producing development tools for META DSP IP cores and Renesas's SuperH architecture processors under CodeScape brand, for £4.2 million.[7]
In October 2006, Intel Corporation acquired a 2.9% stake i.e. 6 million shares in the Company for £5.28 million.[8]
On 24 November 2008, Imagination Technologies announced a license agreement it signed with a new partner, then undisclosed, for a high-performance version of its POWERVR SGX graphics processor chip: this was later revealed to be Apple Inc.[9] In December 2008, Apple Inc purchased a 3.6% stake in the company for £3.2 million.[9]
In June 2009, it was announced that Intel's stake had increased to 14% after it had acquired 25m shares.[10] One week later, Intel acquired another 5m shares from the Saad Group (based in Saudi Arabia), and its shareholding rose to 16.02%.[11]
Days later, Apple Inc announced it had subscribed for 2.2m new shares at 142.75p each and made market purchases of another 11.52m shares, raising its stake to 9.5%;[12] Saad Group, who had held 44.6m shares i.e. 20.3% of the Company as at 30 June 2008, was thought to be the vendor of these shares, and had been reportedly forced to divest after its bank froze its accounts.[13]
On 17 November 2010, Imagination Technologies announced its intention to acquire HelloSoft, one of the world’s leading providers of Video and Voice over Internet Protocol and wireless LAN technologies, for a maximum consideration of $47 million.[14]
On 14 December 2010, Imagination Technologies acquired Caustic Graphics, developer of hardware/software real-time ray-tracing graphics technology which was founded by a group of former Apple engineers, for $27 million.[15]
On 14 December 2011, Imagination Technologies announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with Qualcomm. The company signed an agreement for the display IP from its PowerVR portfolio.[16]
On 3 January 2012, Imagination Technologies announced that it will invest totalling £5 million, in Toumaz Microsystems, a wireless intercom spinout of Toumaz Ltd., and will own 25% of the business.[17]
In June 2012, Imagination Technologies acquired Nethra Imaging, a semiconductor and systems company focused on delivering video and imaging solutions.[18]
On 17 December 2012, Imagination Technologies beat Ceva Inc in the race to buy processing technology firm MIPS with a knockout offer of $100 million.[19]
On 29 December 2012 its Chief Executive Officer, Hossein Yassaie, was awarded a knighthood in the 2013 New Year Honours. The award was given in recognition of his services to technology and innovation.[20]
Operations [edit]
The Company has two activities:[1]
- Technology (development of new products)
- PURE Digital (formerly VideoLogic)
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e Preliminary Results 2012
- ^ a b Analyst Report 9 July 2008
- ^ London Stock Exchange
- ^ NEC Announces Investment in VideoLogic; Companies Sign Joint Development and License Agreement on Advanced 3D Games and Virtual Reality Technology Business Wire, 27 March 1995
- ^ NEC ups Videologic stake, Computer Business Review, 2 December 1997
- ^ Imagination Technologies buys Ensigma
- ^ Imagination Technologies buys Cross Products
- ^ "Intel invests $9.88 million in PowerVR producer". Register Hardware. 2 October 2006.
- ^ a b Athow, Desire (21 December 2008). "Why Has Apple Invested In Imagination's PowerVR?". itproportal.com.
- ^ "Intel boosts stake to 14%". Bloomberg. 18 June 2009.
- ^ Fletcher, Nick (23 June 2009). "Intel raises stake in UK chip group Imagination". The Guardian (London).
- ^ Fletcher, Nick (June 2009). "Imagination Technologies up as Apple stake hits 9.5%". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ Marshall, Rosalie (26 June 2009). "Apple follows Intel in grabbing extra Imagination stake". V3.co.uk.
- ^ Imagination Technologies targets HelloSoft in move to bolster technology base Stockopedia, 17 November 2010
- ^ Imagination Technologies acquires Caustic Graphics Vizworld, 14 December 2010
- ^ Sylvie Barak, EE Times. "Qualcomm becomes Imagination Technologies licensee." 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ Imagination Technologies buys into Toumaz Tech Eye, 3 January 2012
- ^ "From UK-Analyst.com: Thursday 13 September 2012". UK-Analyst.com. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
- ^ "Imagination Tech to buy MIPS Tech for $100M". AP News. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
- ^ "Hossein Yassaie knighted for services to technology and innovation". imgtec.com. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
