Motorola, Inc. has announced that it will sell its Tempe, Arizona embedded communications computing unit to Emerson Electric Co. to allow Motorola to pay more attention to its telecommunications business.
The Tempe unit, comprised of about 1,100 employees, manufactures processor chip boards used in a wide variety of products, ranging from telecommunications products and computers to medical imaging products and defense supply and industrial products. The sale will reportedly be worth $350 million to Motorola. Motorola claimed that the unit had generated revenue in 2006 of $520 million and was only “marginally profitable.” Some investors reportedly expressed concern that the sale price of the unit was less than its annual revenue.
Embedded computing technology works by controlling computer systems, manufacturing equipment and manipulates data. The former Motorola unit will reportedly become a part of Emerson’s Network Power group, an embedded technology computing business.