Irvine, California based Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM) has announced that they are acquiring system-on-a-chip solutions company Provigent for $313 million. Provigent’s products enables wireless system vendors to deliver broadband wireless backhaul systems to network operators. Provigent raised a total of $55 million from Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Pitango. [jPost]

Adobe Flash is the most commonly used video streaming services on the web.  The only problem with it is that, streaming video takes up many CPU cycles.  Intel Atom processors are generally used in netbooks and they cannot handle too many CPU cycles.  That is a netbook’s greatest flaw.

To correct this issue, Nvidia and Broadcom plans to push for smoother playback of HD Flash video so that much lower CPUs are used.  The Flash upgrade won’t happen until at least the first half of 2010.

[via Gizmodo]

Last week I wrote about how Broadcom made an unsolicited $764 million offer for Emulex.  Fortunately for Broadcom, they have won a patent lawsuit which will require Qualcomm to pay them $891 million to settle.  The payout will occure over the course of 4 years.  This is the second time Qualcomm is being forced to pay Broadcom to settle a lawsuit.

However this settlement will dismiss all of the litigation taking place between both companies which includes all patent infringement claims made by Broadcom.  Both companies have also agreed not to sue each other in the future regarding chip products and other services.

[via Reuters]

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM) announced that they have made an unsolicited offer to acquire Emulex Corporation.  The offer was $9.25 per share at a total deal worth $764 million.  The $9.25 offer is worth 40% over the closing price of the stock on April 20.

Broadcom believes that “its leadership in Ethernet networking, together with Emulex’s deeper expertise in Fibre Channel storage networking, will enable the combined company to accelerate the development of converged solutions for enterprise networks.”  The deal would be in cash and securities.  Below is a portion of the press release that Broadcom released in the conflict that they had with Emulex in the past.

As you know, we have believed for some time that a combination of our two companies would benefit both companies’ shareholders and the customers we serve. With that strategic opportunity to meet the needs of the market in mind, we sought to engage you and your Board of Directors in discussions in late December regarding a potential combination of Emulex with Broadcom. We were disappointed when, in early January, you responded that the company was not for sale and abruptly cut off the possibility of further discussions. Even more troubling was the fact that merely one week after that communication, you took actions clearly designed to thwart the ability of your shareholders to receive a premium for their shares. These included adopting a “poison-pill” and amending your bylaws. It is difficult for us to understand why Emulex’s Board of Directors has not been open to consideration of a combination of our respective companies. We would much prefer to have engaged in mutual and constructive discussions with you. However this opportunity is in our view so compelling we now feel we must share our proposal publicly with your shareholders.

Broadcom filed a suit in Delaware Chancery Court against Emulex in order to seek the overturn the recently amended bylaws.

[via Barrons]