People using the ARM microprocessors from Philips (LPC2000 family) and Atmel (AT91SAM7 family) should be aware that both companies are undergoing quite a bit of upheaval in recent days.
Atmel is currently having a heavyweight mahogany row hissy fit where the Board of Directors have fired founding CEO George Perlegos and three other executives for supposed “misuse of travel funds”. Perlegos is not going without a fight, having announced a special stockholder’s meeting to fire the five directors who sacked him.
Royal Philips has wanted to divest itself of the semiconductor division because the business is “too cyclical”. Today it was announced that the huge semiconductor division was sold to a private equity firm for about $10.2 billion dollars (where do these people get money like that?). The union at Philips facilities in Europe is worried as might be expected.
Time to switch to another vendor? I think not as both of these firms are huge and well established. Expect a name change for the Philips unit however.