X-bit labs

ATI Technologies Plans to Make an Acquisition.

Category: Video

by Anton Shilov

[ 01/26/2005 | 06:55 AM ]

Leading graphics company ATI Technologies is preparing to acquire a business. While the company does not comment much on the matter, it indicates that there is an initiative to buy a company involved into consumer electronics and related spaces.

“We’ve been on a pace of about one (deal) a year and I think it’s about time for us to now look at a bigger step, but nothing is in the funnel… You don't want to go into it lightly. It can destroy companies. But the digital consumer is the area and there's a breadth of proximity markets ... that are interesting to us,” ATI’s CEO and President David Orton told Reuters after the company’s annual meeting on Tuesday.

The exec declined to reveal how much the company plans to spend on its potential forthcoming acquisition, but said the newly appointed CFO – Patrick Crowley – can help the company to evaluate possible deals.

“It’s not so much a financial question as it is an alignment question from my standpoint. If you find the right alignment and you have a common view of where you can go with this, the market in a sense will define the value,” Mr. Orton said.

The company’s latest major acquisition was chip develop ArtX in 2001 for $400 million, from where Mr. Orton came to Markham, Ontario-based ATI.

Currently the company has $620 million in cash.