產(chǎn)業(yè)界對中國無晶圓廠IC設(shè)計(jì)業(yè)者銳迪科微電子(RDA Microelectroics)與展訊通信(Spreadtrum Communications)考慮合并的傳言已久，這可能有一定程度上的現(xiàn)實(shí)基礎(chǔ)，但銳迪科看來是在等待出價(jià)更高的買主。 幾個(gè)月來，市場傳言展訊有意收購擅長手機(jī)與網(wǎng)絡(luò)應(yīng)用RF/混合訊號無線SoC的銳迪科；產(chǎn)業(yè)觀察家咸認(rèn)，這兩家總部都位于上海的無晶圓廠IC設(shè)計(jì)業(yè)者的合并是理想交易，因?yàn)殇J迪科能為展訊的基頻芯片提供低成本RF解決方案。 展訊是全球最大移動通信業(yè)者(用戶數(shù)達(dá)7億)中國移動(China Mobile)的 TD-SCDMA 基頻芯片主要供貨商；銳迪科則是中國市場的功率放大器、藍(lán)牙與FM芯片領(lǐng)導(dǎo)供貨商。 在被問到有關(guān)收購的問題時(shí)，銳迪科CEO戴保家(Vincent Tai)斷然否認(rèn)該公司與展訊之間將有任何交易在短期內(nèi)發(fā)生，他表示兩家公司從未正式討論過這個(gè)議題，只能算曾經(jīng)交換過一些有關(guān)未來發(fā)展的想法。

銳迪科CEO戴保家(Vincent Tai)
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但 在同樣的問題上，展訊CEO李力游的說法卻不同，他坦承：“我們考慮過(收購銳迪科)。”不過李力游視銳迪科為一家“零組件公司(component company)”，能為展訊帶來的價(jià)值有限?！叭绻覀円ㄥX，會想買一家軟件工程師多一點(diǎn)的公司。”李力游輕描淡寫地將展訊與銳迪科合并傳言形容為不 會發(fā)生的“去年的故事?！?

展訊CEO李力游
LEmesmc

本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第2頁：銳迪科沒有理由被展訊甚至是高通收購 第3頁：以無人能敵的低成本解決方案，深入那些不被關(guān)注的市場

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• 本土廠商走自己的路，讓外企在中國無路可走
• 高速發(fā)展的中國IC公司面臨哪些挑戰(zhàn)？
• 不和高通蘋果拼高端，展訊在中低端市場很滋潤LEmesmc

{pagination} 無論那是否只是故事，戴保家在最近接受EETimes美國版編輯訪問時(shí)仍透露，對投資了2,000 美元資金在2004年共同創(chuàng)立銳迪科的Warburg Pincus來說，看到投資報(bào)酬的：“時(shí)機(jī)快到了?！变J迪科在2010年11月于美國那斯達(dá)克(NASDAQ)股市首次公開上市。 而戴保家也認(rèn)為銳迪科沒有理由被展訊甚至是高通(Qualcomm)──另一家傳聞中的銳迪科潛在買主──收購；他指出，企業(yè)發(fā)動并購?fù)ǔＳ腥齻€(gè)動機(jī)：一是消滅對手、二是收購IP，三是兩家公司能組合成更強(qiáng)大的一家公司，但以上三者都不適用于目前的銳迪科。 戴保家指出，因?yàn)殇J迪科：“已經(jīng)是中國市場第一名的功率放大器、藍(lán)牙、FM與DVB-S調(diào)諧器芯片供貨商。”而且針對有人指銳迪科缺乏基頻技術(shù)，該公司已經(jīng)證明那些說法是錯(cuò)的。 去年銳迪科推出訴求高性能、低成本的RDA8851系統(tǒng)單芯片，采用55納米制程，整合了GSM基頻、四頻RF收發(fā)器、電源管理單元、藍(lán)牙/FM收發(fā)器；戴保家表示，從那時(shí)候起：“我們已經(jīng)成為GSM基頻芯片的第二大供貨商。” 銳迪科是少數(shù)能在CMOS單芯片上整合RF收發(fā)器與基頻的供貨商，該公司表示，相較于競爭對手提供的系統(tǒng)級封裝方案，RDA8851可免除搭配32k石英晶體與SAW濾波器的需求，因此降低成本、功耗，同時(shí)節(jié)省電路板空間。 戴保家透露，銳迪科將在接下來幾周推出針對EDGE智能手機(jī)應(yīng)用的40納米制程基頻/RF收發(fā)器單芯片樣品，而WCDMA版本芯片則將在今年第四季推出。銳迪科是在去年收購一家中國芯片業(yè)者互芯(Coolsand Holding)的IP，取得了基頻技術(shù)能力。 以戴保家的觀點(diǎn)，銳迪科已經(jīng)有Wi-Fi、有藍(lán)牙，基頻技術(shù)策略也準(zhǔn)備就緒，所以為何要賣給別人？“當(dāng)然，話千萬別說死；如果有合理的出價(jià)，我們也會考慮?！彼o接著補(bǔ)充：“但是，我很貪心的?！? 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第3頁：以無人能敵的低成本解決方案，深入那些不被關(guān)注的市場

相關(guān)閱讀：
• 本土廠商走自己的路，讓外企在中國無路可走
• 高速發(fā)展的中國IC公司面臨哪些挑戰(zhàn)？
• 不和高通蘋果拼高端，展訊在中低端市場很滋潤LEmesmc

{pagination} 在全球手機(jī)市場已經(jīng)發(fā)展到這個(gè)階段的此刻，涉足已經(jīng)逐漸萎縮的GSM、EDGE與WCDMA市場似乎違反常理；但銳迪科挾無人能敵的低成本解決方案，深入一個(gè)可能在短時(shí)間內(nèi)就不被關(guān)注的市場，卻讓該公司獲致成功。 “在印度鄉(xiāng)下以及非洲，還有大量來自初次購買手機(jī)的需求，這類消費(fèi)者正在尋找低價(jià)、以語音功能為主的手機(jī)?！贝鞅＜冶硎?，銳迪科的GSM基頻業(yè)務(wù)毛利率超過35%，利潤很高。 而且戴保家并不認(rèn)為銳迪科的GSM芯片只能應(yīng)用在手機(jī)，著眼于其低成本以及較低數(shù)據(jù)傳輸速率：“我在想是否能將GSM技術(shù)打入物聯(lián)網(wǎng)(IoT)市場?！彼M(jìn)一步說明，中國的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)市場尚未起步，但：“我們會為該應(yīng)用做準(zhǔn)備。” 戴保家也提及了該公司仍在開發(fā)階段的CMOS功率放大器技術(shù)，以及考慮進(jìn)軍電視芯片市場的計(jì)劃。雖然以上市場都已經(jīng)有主要供貨商，但他表示，客戶都會希望有更多選擇，也會尋找替代解決方案，那就會是該公司的切入點(diǎn)。 藉由已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好的產(chǎn)品，以及未來進(jìn)軍新市場(Edge/WCDMA基頻、電視、物聯(lián)網(wǎng))的積極計(jì)劃，戴保家希望能展示他已經(jīng)在短時(shí)間之內(nèi)顯著提升了銳迪科的身價(jià)。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Judith Cheng 參考英文原文：China fabless: RDA for sale at 'fair price'，by Junko Yoshida

相關(guān)閱讀：
• 本土廠商走自己的路，讓外企在中國無路可走
• 高速發(fā)展的中國IC公司面臨哪些挑戰(zhàn)？
• 不和高通蘋果拼高端，展訊在中低端市場很滋潤LEmesmc

{pagination} China fabless: RDA for sale at 'fair price' Junko Yoshida Speculation has it that Spreadtrum is poised to acquire fabless chip company, but RDA may be looking for a better deal. SHANGHAI–Persistent speculation about a pending merger between Chinese fabless chip vendors RDA Microelectroics and Spreadtrum Communications may have some basis in reality, but word is that RDA has its sights set on a higher bidder. For months, rumor has had it that Spreadtrum is poised to buy RDA, which specializes in radio-frequency and mixed-signal wireless SoCs for cellular and connectivity. Industry observers pegged the potential deal between the two leading Shanghai-based fablesses as ideal, since RDA can provide genuinely low-cost RF solutions to Spreadtrum’s leading baseband chips. Spreadtrum—armed with its TD-SCDMA baseband chips—has dominated the handset market for China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator by subscriber count (700 million). Meanwhile, RDA has been China’s leading provider of power amplifiers, Bluetooth and FM tuners. Asked about the speculation during a recent interview, Vincent Tai (below), CEO of RDA , flatly denied any imminent deal with Spreadtrum. “We’ve never talked,” claimed Tai. “OK, we may have said to each other, at one point, we should look into the future,” he added, but that never led to any serious discussion. Leo Li, Spreadtrum’s CEO, paints a different picture. “We considered it [the acquisition of RDA],” Li acknowledged. However, after having looked into it, Li now sees RDA as “a component company,” which can add little value to Spreadtrum. “If we spend any money, we want a company with a lot more software engineers,” said Li. He continued to downplay a Spreadtrum-RDA deal that never took place as “l(fā)ast year’s story.” For sale at what price? Last year’s story or not, RDA’s Tai acknowledged in a recent interview here that the “time is coming soon” for Warburg Pincus, who provided $20 million in seed money for RDA, to start looking for return on his investment. Pincus co-founded RDA in 2004. RDA completed an IPO on the NASDAQ stock exchange in November 2010. Tai, however, sees little reason for RDA’s acquisition by either Spreadtrum, or even Qualcomm (another company rumored as a potential buyer). According to Tai, company acquisitions tend to be driven by three factors: killing the competition, acquiring IP the idea that the merger will result in a strong company. To Tai, none of the scenarios is applicable to RDA today. It’s because RDA is “already the number one provider of power amplifiers, Bluetooth, FM tuners, DVB-S tuners in China,” claimed Tai. To those who criticized RDA for its lack of baseband offerings, RDA has already proven them wrong. RDA last year rolled out RDA8851, a high-performance, low-cost SoC that integrates the GSM baseband, quad-band RF transceiver, power management unit, Bluetooth and FM receiver in a single-chip 55-nanometer design. Since then, “we’ve already become the number two supplier in GSM baseband,” noted Tai. RDA is one of few chip vendors capable of integrating an RF transceiver and baseband on a single CMOS die. Compared to competitors’ system-in-package solutions, RDA8851 eliminates the need for the 32k crystal and SAW filter, thus significantly reducing cost, power consumption and board space, according to RDA. RDA will start sampling “within the next couple of weeks” a single-die, integrated baseband/RF transceiver solution -- using 40-nm process -- for EDGE smartphones, Tai said. WCDMA version will follow in the fourth quarter this year. Baseband IPs from Coolsand Enabling RDA to add a series of baseband products alongside its RF and mixed-signal offerings for handsets is Coolsand Holding Co. (a privately held baseband company with business operations in China). RDA last year acquired intellectual property from Coolsand. From Tai’s point of view, RDA already checked off WiFi and Bluetooth. RDA has already put in place its baseband strategy. So why would RDA need to sell itself to any one? “Of course, never say never. At a fair price, we may consider it,” said Tai. “But I’m greedy," he quickly added. Why go after the trailing edge market? Going for GSM, EDGE and WCDMA at this stage of the global cellular market development appears counter-intuitive. Demand for such cellular basebands for handsets are in decline, not on the rise. But zooming in on what may soon become an underserved market with a very low-cost solution that nobody else can match is a strategy that has fueled RDA’s success so far. Tai said, “There is a large demand for first-time handset buyers in rural India and Africa, looking for very low-end voice-centric phones.” Noting that RDA’s gross margin for its GSM baseband (RDA8851) is more than 35 percent, Tai described it as a very profitable GSM solution. RDA’s CEO isn’t thinking about its GSM chip just for cell phones, though. At its low data-rate for communication and very low cost, “I’m thinking about going after the Internet of Things (IoT) market with GSM.” While Tai doesn’t believe the IoT market is here yet, he made it clear, “We want to be prepared for it.” CMOS power amplifiers Qualcomm isn’t the only company pitting CMOS against GaAs for cellphone front ends. (Qualcomm has recently introduced a CMOS radio frequency IC family, for use in the mobile phones that is expected to validate and stimulate the use of CMOS for multi-band power amplifiers.) RDA is currently working on the integration of PA into the company’s single-die CMOS GSA baseband/transceiver chip. He added, “If we can get that done, it can definitely solve the high cost issues of IoT.” RDA’s CMOS PA project, however, is still under development. “But we are making a serious attempt. If I didn’t think we had a chance, I wouldn’t be talking about it now,” Tai said. RDA has a solid R&D team working on the project under CTO Shuran Wei, who has two decades of experience in CMOS RF integrated circuit design. Before co-founding RDA with Tai and Pincus, Wei worked at Analogix, Marvell and LSI. TV business RDA also plans to branch out of the mobile phone chip market. Already the No. 1 DVB-S Tuner chip supplier in China, RDA is poised to move into the TV market. The Shanghai-based company more than a year ago signed an IP license and development agreement with Trident Microsystems, under which RDA secured a non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferrable license to develop, manufacture and sell derivative versions of the Trident SX5 digital TV SoC platform for a period of 10 years. Acknowledging that “we’re still new to this market and we have lots to learn,” Tai said that RDA will first enter the TV market with “multimedia TV products.” Rather than going straight into the full-blown smart TV market, RDA will test the waters with chips offering lower-end limited multimedia functions. The TV market, however, won’t be an easy segment for RDA to crack, especially since today’s market is totally dominated by MStar and MediaTek, two Taiwanese chip companies scheduled to merge soon. Tai said, “If those two Taiwanese giants merge, I actually see more opportunities for us.” How's that? “Because customers want to see more choices, and they’ll seek alternatives,” said Tai. “That’s where we hope to come in.” With all the new products RDA has in store and the company’s aggressive plans to enter new market segments (basebands for Edge and WCDMA; multimedia TV; IoT, etc.), Tai hopes to demonstrate that he has substantially increased the value for RDA compared to what it was only a year ago. RDA's stock prices over the past 12 months