Chip Maker NeoMagic Plans IPO

NeoMagic Corp., a semiconductor company founded by several former executives of Cirrus Logic Inc., plans to raise about $34.5 million through an initial public offering. The Santa Clara company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell common shares. The company will disclose the size of the IPO and the share price in a supplemental filing. NeoMagic, founded in 1993, manufactures semiconductor chips known as accelerators for notebook computers. These chips enable the portable computers to run software graphics and multimedia applications with less power and memory than otherwise required. The company’s founders include Kamran Elahian, Prakash Agarwal, Clement Leung and Deepraj Puar. All of these executives formerly worked or were associated with Cirrus Logic, a major semiconductor manufacturer in Fremont. NeoMagic first began doing a significant amount of business during the nine months ended Oct. 31, when the company recorded a $2.46-million loss from operations on $24.5 million in net sales. NeoMagic says its products are used in notebook PCs sold by Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and others.