SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- IDT(TM) (Integrated Device Technology, Inc.)(Nasdaq:IDTI), a leading communications IC company and the market and technology leader of network search engine (NSE) semiconductor devices, today announced it has reached an agreement with IBM to purchase its NSE product designs. IBM had been developing full-ternary content addressable memory-based NSEs targeting next-generation platforms. With this acquisition, IDT further extends its leadership by offering the broadest and deepest portfolio of NSE solutions that accelerate packet processing. The financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

"This acquisition reinforces our position as the market and technology leader of NSEs that enable differentiated network services. Our goal is to provide preeminent semiconductor solutions that accelerate packet processing," said Greg Lang, IDT president and CEO. "With the addition of these devices that complement our internal development efforts, we continue to extend our portfolio of next-generation packet-processing solutions."

"Acquiring these NSE product designs from IBM enhances the IDT product portfolio and market share for the enterprise switching market," said Jag Bolaria, senior analyst at The Linley Group. "More importantly, these complementary devices further strengthen IDT as the leader in the NSE market."

Specific to the transaction, the acquired product designs consist of 128Kx36 (4.5-Mbit) and 512Kx36 (18-Mbit) devices; no IBM employees will be transferred as part of this acquisition. As part of the agreement, IBM will serve as the foundry and will manufacture these NSEs in a 0.13-micron, copper process. Initial products are sampling now.

As the industry leader in NSEs, IDT accelerates packet processing in applications such as core, metro and access routers. The IDT product portfolio includes a pin- and software-compatible family of NSEs that are specifically targeted for application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)-based packet-processing designs, as well as NSEs that seamlessly interface to network processor units (NPUs) from leading vendors including Intel and AMCC. IDT NSE devices aid in classification and offload the search functions from ASICs and NPUs, allowing for differentiated services such as policy-based routing, billing, access control lists (ACLs) and quality of service (QoS).

Integrated Device Technology Inc. (IDT)

IBM Corp.