Broadcom to buy Global Locate
From Times Wire Services
Irvine chip maker Broadcom Corp., which is striving to win more sales for mobile phones, agreed to buy San Jose-based Global Locate Inc. for $146 million, gaining semiconductors that could be used as tracking devices.
Broadcom also will pay Global Locate’s former owners as much as $80 million if the transaction meets undisclosed goals.
Global Locate’s chips use the satellite-based global positioning system, and are used in navigational devices for cars and handsets, Broadcom said. The company also would use Global Locate’s chips to meet government regulations for emergency phone calls because they could pinpoint a caller’s location.
