Well HEXUS can exclusively confirm that sometime around close of trading today ATi Technologies will confirm its acquisition of the Shanghai design and technology centre of graphics upstart XGI Technologies .
ATi officials seem to be running around denying everything at present, but HEXUS has the sprout that the princely sum involved seems to be between $8-12 million USD, though other sources indicate that it’s probably at the lower range of this figure.
What’s in it for ATi? We speculate that on top of the XGI engineering facility in China and any IP, one of the primary benefits will be XGI’s relations with the Chinese government; which is something that other companies seem to have stumbled against in recent times.
Also would XGI's device driver team, which seems to have had a pro-active focus on Linux drivers - something woefully absent with ATi - also be something that ATi's been keen to engage?
More on this HEXUS.bean as we get pollinated, which will hopefully before 16:01hrs EST…
All stories come true in the end...
We don't like to leave you hanging, and sure enough ATI has issued a press release announcing the acquisition of Macrosynergy, an XGI Technology alliance company. ATI's Dave Orten is claiming the move will give ATi "two important elements - presence in a country that is emerging as the next big technology market, and a team of engineers that are highly skilled in our key product areas".
Check out the press release for a little more pr lovin'.
