Freescale’s makeover: How's it look?

Junko Yoshida, EETimes
6/26/2011 8:22 AM EDT
   
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Quick! Describe Freescale in one key word.

Put to such a test, many successful companies are pretty easy. In word association for Intel, for example, the obvious response would be “CPU;” for TI, “analog;” for Qualcomm, “cellular.” And Broadcom’s magic word? “Consumer” – at least in this reporter’s mind. Historically, Freescale’s synonym was “wireless,” because of its Motorola heritage.

In recent years, however, the non-magic word too often linked to Freescale has been “debt.” A $7.6 billion millstone hangs around the company’s neck, incurred when Freescale agreed to a $17.6 billion leveraged buyout by private equity firms in 2006.