Following a charge of $880 million in its second quarter related to the falling value of ATI's former digital television business unit which it acquired in 2006, AMD has agreed to sell the aforementioned division to Broadcom for $192.8 million in cash.
AMD is selling the unit as part of a program to reduce debt and improve profitability, whereas Broadcom will be able to scale its DTV business with a complete product line of processors, receivers and software for digital sets that cover all segments of the market, from low to high end. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter pending government approvals, with approximately 530 members of AMD's dedicated DTV team joining Broadcom as a result of the transaction.