MagnaChip Enters Power Management Business

CMOS image sensors and flat panel display drivers maker MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd. http://www.magnachip.com is throwing its hat into the power management business ring, announcing it has begun marketing a new line of technologies targeted for that market.

The Seoul, South Korea-based company's initial power management products include MOSFETs, DC-DC converters and linear regulators that aim at such applications as mobile phones and LCD televisions. For mobile device applications, MagnaChip said its product design is focused on improving battery life. For LCD TVs, the company said it has focused its product design on controlling and reducing standby power consumption.

MagnaChip said that it believes its power management solutions “will enable customers to increase system stability and reduce heat dissipation and energy use, resulting in cost savings for our customers and consumers, as well as environmental benefits,” but gave no technical details on the products and could not be reached by Electronic News for further comment.

In making the move, the company pits itself against industry’s powerhouses, including Texas Instruments http://www.ti.com and Analog Devices Inc. http://www.analog.com (ADI). Unlike MagnaChip, which has been making efforts to extend its reach through its analog and mixed-signal technology platform and systems level expertise in recent quarters, ADI has been making efforts to slim its technology focus and announced  that it will sell its CPU voltage regulation and PC thermal monitoring product line http://www.edn.com/article/CA6499138.html to ON Semiconductor Corp. http://www.onsemi.com for $185 million.

In related news, MagnaChip announced plans for a $575 million initial public offering http://www.shareholder.com/Common/Edgar/1325702/1193125-07-247379/07-00.pdf.