Wolfspeed is selling its radio frequency business for $125 million

DURHAM – Wolfspeed is selling its radio frequency business, saying the move will help the company concentrate on its semiconductor and power businesses especially as related to electric vehicles.

The company announced the deal early Tuesday. Shares in Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF) rose slightly on the news in pre-market trading.

Possible impact on jobs at Wolfspeed was not made clear.

Buying the RF business is Macom Technology Solutions. Based in Massachusetts, Macom has a manufacturing center in Morrisville.

The value of the deal is $75 million in case plus $50 million in shares in Macom (Nasdaq: MTSI).

A global company, Macom designs and manufactures high-performance semiconductor products for the telecommunications, industrial and defense and datacenter industries, according to its website.

“Given the significant growth we’ve seen in automotive, industrial and renewable energy markets, we believe this is the right time to further focus on scaling our Power device and materials businesses to meet this accelerated demand,” said Wolfspeed President and CEO Gregg Lowe. “This transaction also represents a tremendous opportunity for our RF team to grow and operate at scale, leveraging Macom’s diverse customer base, RF engineering leadership and operational efficiencies.”

Lowe declared Wolfspeed’s need to concentrate on bringing its new facilities online and increasing production after the firm disclosed a larger than expected quarterly loss last week.

The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

Wolfspeed is investing billions in semiconductor projects in Durham, in New York, and at new plants in Chatham County and Germany.

The Wolfspeed RF business focuses on telecommunications infrastructure, military uses, and more, the company says.