Intel to snap up Wind River Systems

CHIP GIANT INTEL SAID it is poised to snap up Wind River Systems Inc, for around $884 million, or $11.50 per share.

The deal to make Wind River a wholly-owned Intel subsidiary is a major step into what Intel calls the MID market - by which it means Mobile Internet Devices.

Wind River makes software for embedded devices. These end up in cars and other places and its the company's expertise in open source software that gives Intel the horn as it moves seriously into the phone business.

MIDs aren't phones, Intel will say, but they are. Just big fat ones that come with the Interweb built in.

In its statement, Intel said the deal brings it "robust software capabilities in embedded systems and mobile devices, both important growth areas for the company".

Wind River Chairman, president and CEO, Ken Klein, said Wind River would more tightly align its software expertise to Intel's platforms. "We remain committed to continuing to provide leading solutions across multiple hardware architectures and delivering the same world-class support to which our customers have grown accustomed," the statement reads.

Essentially, Wind River develops operating systems, middleware, and other software for embedded systems. Its main products include VxWorks, a proprietary and multicore-ready real-time operating system, and commercial-grade Linux software platforms.

The firm appeared on stage here in Taiwan earlier today, claiming to be a billion-dollar outfit. By that reckoning, it looks like Intel bagged a bargain. µ