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 Sponsored by SAP When natural disasters strike Japan, Ōita University’s EDiSON is ready to act With the technology and assistance of SAP and Zynas Corporation, Ōita University built an emergency-response collaboration tool named EDiSON that helps the Japanese island of Kyushu detect and mitigate natural disasters. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Dec 07, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by BMC BMC on BMC: How the company enables IT observability with BMC Helix and AIOps The goals: transform an ocean of data and ultimately provide a stellar user experience and maximum value. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by BMC The data deluge: The need for IT Operations observability and strategies for achieving it BMC Helix brings thousands of data points together to create a holistic view of the health of a service. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business Small and Medium Business Small and Medium Business 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