Koninklijke Philips Electronics is speeding up the process of spinning off its semiconductor business and will reduce its ownership of it to a minority stake, the company said on Wednesday. Philips first announced plans to separate itself from the unit last December, hoping to generate more value from it. At the time, it said it was open to mergers or acquisitions for the business. The electronics giant hopes to complete the separation by the end of the third quarter and reduce its ownership to a minority interest before the end of the year. Philips will conduct an IPO or sell shares to financial investors, or both, in order to reach a minority ownership. It will also evaluate consolidation opportunities. It will announce a new name for the independent business “in due course.” Good progress in spinning off the unit and examining options lead Philips to speed up the process. It initiated the spin-off last year as part of a larger strategy to focus on stable businesses and move away from volatile businesses, such as chips. Another European chip maker, Infineon Technologies, announced plans last year to spin off its memory-chip business. After posting declining revenues for the semiconductor business during some quarters in 2005, Philips reported revenue growth for the unit in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year.Philips’ overall revenue for the first quarter of 2006 was 7.37 billion euros (US$8.90 billion as of March 31, the last day in the period being reported), of which 1.22 billion euros came from the chip business.-Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service (Dublin Bureau)Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content BrandPost Retail innovation playbook: Fast, economical transformation on Microsoft Cloud For retailers, tight integration of data and systems is the antidote to a challenging economy. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 3 mins Retail Industry Digital Transformation BrandPost How retailers are empowering business transformation with TCS and Microsoft Cloud AI-powered omnichannel integration and a strong, secure digital core lets retailers innovate across four primary areas while staying compliant, maintaining security and preventing fraud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 4 mins Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to Build ROI from Cloud Migration This whitepaper and webcast can help you calculate the ROI and create a business case for modernizing your legacy applications to the Microsoft Cloud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to power a sustainable enterprise on Microsoft Cloud In this eBook, we’ll follow the journey of Amal Skye, a fictitious woman who is committed to living in a way that preserves the planet for the future —and how businesses like Tata Consultancy Services and Microsoft are making that possi By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe