Deal Further Demonstrates Abilis Technology Leadership in RF Solutions for Digital TV Market

GENEVA, August 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abilis Systems, a Kudelski Group company, (SWX:KUD) and a pioneer RF semiconductor company, announces the acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor CMOS Modulators and Silicon Tuner product lines. The acquisition of these assets will allow Abilis to expand its broad portfolio of leading, silicon- based digital TV (DTV) and tuner solutions and better address the needs of the growing digital TV market, and in particular of Digital Terrestrial (DTT) and cable platforms. It will enable Abilis to support the growth of Pay-TV operators by combining its innovative cutting-edge technology with well- established and proven technology and knowledge from one of the most relevant global chip manufacturers. Furthermore, this extension of product portfolio and related skills and competences will further enhance its expertise in this area with the integration within Abilis of the dedicated team from Freescale.

Abilis will begin selling these products under the Abilis brand effective October 1, 2009. Key members of the Freescale Digital Home Operations (DHO) team who support these products have transitioned to the Abilis Chandler, Arizona-based product team. Freescale and Abilis Systems are jointly committed to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for the current client base. Abilis is securing a high quality of service and the sustainability and timeliness of product delivery.

The acquired portfolio of innovative, high-performance CMOS modulators and silicon tuners are targeting the rapidly expanding DTV market, where Freescale is currently the world-leader supplier of modulators. These products include a family of CMOS modulator chips as well as high performance silicon tuners that are increasingly being integrated in favor of bulky, can-type tuners in DTV applications. The performance, low cost and versatility of these devices has given Freescale broad market acceptance in the HDTV market.

"Adding the Freescale CMOS modulator and silicon tuner products to our portfolio of RF devices further strengthens our comprehensive family of DTV solutions," said Yves Mathys, CEO of Abilis. "The Freescale CMOS modulator and silicon tuner products have received strong customer acceptance. This transaction enables Abilis to further expand its presence in the silicon-based DTV market segment."

Additional information on this agreement is accessible at http://www.abilis.com.

About Freescale Semiconductor

Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. The privately held company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations around the world.

About Abilis Systems

Abilis Systems, a Kudelski Group company, provides true single-chip RF CMOS solutions to receive digital TV broadcasts. By utilizing software-defined radio architectures to guarantee the highest quality of service in all reception conditions, combined with the latest low power technology, Abilis Systems enables a small footprint, low power television receiver which can support fix and mobile digital TV. Abilis Systems, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, also actively co-operates with sister companies of the Kudelski Group to develop complete hardware/software packages for highly secured conditional access systems.

    For more information, visit http://www.abilis.com.

    Contacts:

    Freescale Media Contacts:
    Jack Taylor
    Freescale Semiconductor
    +1-512-996-5161 Office
    +1-512-560-7143 Mobile
    jack.taylor@freescale.com

    Abilis Systems / Kudelski Group
    (General contact)
    Sukhjeet Hothi
    Abilis Systems Sarl
    VP Sales & Marketing
    +41-22-706-19-00
    sukhjeet.hothi@abilis.com

    Daniel Herrera (contact for general interest media)
    Kudelski Group Head of Corporate Communications
    +41-21-732-01-81
    daniel.herrera@nagra.com

    Santino Rumasuglia
    (Contact for investors and financial analysts)
    Head of Investor Relations
    Kudelski Group
    +41-21-732-01-24
    santino.rumasuglia@nagra.com

SOURCE Abilis Systems

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