Nokia exits chips; STM, Broadcom shares up

By Tarmo Virki

HELSINKI (Reuters) - World No.1 cell phone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE) is to order more microchips from STMicroelectronics (STM.PA) and Broadcom (BRCM.O), tipping the balance of industry power away from Texas Instruments (TXN.N) and Qualcomm (QCOM.O).

Finland-based Nokia said STMicro would design and build third generation (3G) chips based on Nokia technologies for Nokia and other customers, freeing up Nokia's own research and development resources for other areas.

Nokia will continue to develop its own modem technology -- the interfaces between chips and radio signals. Its decision to license out the technology will bring in additional revenue and allow new players to enter the technically difficult market.

Nokia said that to balance its increasing dependence on chipset makers it was widening its supplier base. In addition to deeper ties with STMicro, Broadcom (BRCM.O), one of its existing suppliers, will now also make EDGE chips for Nokia.

It aims to start shipping phones using Broadcom's EDGE chipset -- advanced GSM chips with faster data connections -- in the second half of 2008.

The news, which marked STMicro's first design win for a complete 3G chipset, lifted shares in all three companies.

By 11:15 a.m. EDT, shares in STMicro were up 5.6 percent at 12.98 euros ($17.92), and Nokia shares were up 3.9 percent, both among top contributors to a 2.9 percent rise in the DJ European technology index .SX8P on Wednesday.

Shares in Broadcom were 7 percent higher at $35.04 after the deal on 1.7 percent stronger Nasdaq .IXIC.

"We view this win as significant for Broadcom as the company has been spending significant resources to expand its wireless participation," Stiffel Nicolaus analysts said in a note.

Nokia's decision to effectively exit the chip business is part of a trend by makers of handsets and consumer electronics to concentrate on their core competencies.

"This is a pragmatic move which increases our competitiveness in the future," Niklas Savander, head of technology platforms at Nokia, told Reuters in an interview.

"This frees R&D resources for other areas ... like Internet, services, user interfaces," he said.

Handelsbanken analyst Karri Rinta said: "This is a good sign that the company is constantly looking for opportunities to improve efficiency, even after just reporting very strong results."

Last week Nokia reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, boosted by strong profitability in its cell phone business.

As part of the deal with STMicro, Nokia will transfer 200 staff to the Franco-Italian chipmaker in the fourth quarter.