Nvidia Acquire iPod Chip Maker

Nvidia Corp has acquired California-based PortalPlayer, Apple Computer's supplier of MP3 decoder, as also the controller chip that goes into its wildly popular iPod.

Nvidia payed $13.50 in cash for each outstanding share of PortalPlayer common stock, which represents a total purchase price of approx $357 million and approximately $161 million net of cash.

Nvidia believes this acquisition will accelerate their ongoing investment in handheld product strategy. Nvidia's handheld technology, combining high-quality graphics, TV, and video with low power and a small footprint, is used in many industry-leading portable media devices, including phones from Motorola, Samsung, Kyocera, HTC, and Sony Ericsson.