The deal sparks company stock growth by 200 percent
Strengthening its industrial IoT portfolio, Qualcomm QCOM 0.00%↑ last week purchased Sequans’ SQNS 0.00%↑ 4G IoT for $200 million. The deal’s terms call for France-based Sequans to receive $185 million in cash, with $175 million coming at closing and as much as $10 million after a one-year warranty.
Sequans, which will retain its 5G IoT technology, saw its shares jump dramatically after the announcement. Overall, the transaction is subject regulatory closing conditions and French government approval.
Qualcomm said the acquisition includes certain employees, assets and licenses. However, through a license agreement, Sequans will retain rights to continue to use the technology commercially.
“Digital transformation is being driven by high-performance processing and intelligence at the edge, positioning Qualcomm for growth in one of the largest addressable opportunities,” said Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm’s group general manager, automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and cloud computing, in a statement. “This acquisition of Sequans’ 4G IoT technology adds to Qualcomm’s broad portfolio, further strengthening our offerings across enterprise customers of low-power solutions for reliable, optimized cellular connectivity for industrial IoT applications.”
For its part, and aside from the company’s stock jumping 200 percent, the Qualcomm deal looks to be a solid one for Sequans. Last year, Location Business News reported that the company was set to be purchased by Japan-based Renesas Electronics for $249 million. However, earlier this year, this deal fell apart as Renesas said it would take a big tax hit if it purchased the company.
Sequans has championed IoT tracking with cellular and low-power GNSS, particularly to mitigate loss from theft. The company marketed its IoT trackers for such applications as luggage, wallets, bikes, motorcycles, automobiles, industrial pallets, fleets, farm animals and shipping containers, to name a few.
