Peter Clarke Courtesy of EE Times Europe (11/21/2007 7:00 AM EST)

LONDON — Micronas USA Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif.) has said it is looking for backers following the announcement that its consumer and automotive semiconductor parent, Micronas Holding GmbH (Zurich, Switzerland) plans to sell it as part of a restructuring initiative.

"In the interim, Micronas has pledged on-going financial support for Micronas USA, and all projects continue as scheduled," the company said in a note.

"This note is part update and part reassurance that Micronas USA hasn't lost any momentum or direction after the corporate investor news published on October 11, 2007," the company also said (see Oct. 11 story).

Micronas acquired WISchip International Ltd., a global provider of digital video decoder and encoder SoC solutions, in December 2005 to form Micronas USA with a mission to deliver products in the areas of IP-based television.

The IPTV market has developed slowly Micronas USA admitted but said that IPTV is now on track to become the third video option, rivaling cable and digital broadcast. "At this critical point in the evolution of our [consumer electronics] markets, our primary objective is to align ourselves with a partner prepared to make the deep commitments required to position ourselves as one of the top two suppliers in this space," said Rainer Hoffmann, CEO of Micronas USA, in the statement. Micronas USA said it would launch a third-generation multi-format decoder SoC in 2008.

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