FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of January 2001
STMicroelectronics N.V.
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(Translation of registrant's name into English)
Route de Pre-Bois, ICC Bloc A, 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
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(Address of principal executive offices)
[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file
annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F]
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
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[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934]
Yes No X
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[If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
Registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-______]
Enclosure:
A press release dated January 18, 2001 announcing STMicroelectronics'
agreement to acquire Ravisent's consumer electronics business.
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PRESS RELEASE COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE COMMUNICATO STAMPA PRESSEINFORMATION
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PR No. C935P
STMICROELECTRONICS ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO
ACQUIRE RAVISENT'S CONSUMER ELECTRONICS BUSINESS
Purchase reinforces ST's strength in embedded solutions for
digital multimedia applications, including DVDs, Set-Top Boxes and Digital TV
Geneva, January 18, 2001 - STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), the leading
system-on-chip supplier to the digital consumer electronics industry, today
announced an agreement to purchase the assets of the Consumer Electronics (CE)
business of RAVISENT Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RVST), a provider of digital
audio, video software and Internet appliance technology.
ST will invest approximately $55 million to acquire ownership of RAVISENT's CE
assets, including the intellectual properties of the software CineMaster CE DVD
technology, employees and technology know-how developed by the company. As part
of the transaction, RAVISENT will also license its Digital TV and Internet
browser technology to ST. The transaction is subject to customary closing
conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is currently expected to close
in this quarter. Prior to this agreement, STMicroelectronics and RAVISENT have
enjoyed fruitful product development cooperation, in addition to a joint sales
and marketing relationship, for the consumer electronics industry.
"This acquisition is another important step for ST in offering a complete
system-on-chip platform for digital consumer appliances. These acquired assets
will strengthen ST's leading position in the areas of software, DVD, Digital TV
and Web browsing, and will further enable the company to develop future
platforms for Home and Portable multimedia terminals," said Philippe Geyres,
Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Consumer and Microcontroller
Groups, STMicroelectronics.
"The RAVISENT CE team and ST have been cooperating for several years and the
excellent team work already in place will allow our existing customers to take
immediate
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benefit from this operation. It also allows ST to win and support more business
in the DVD, Set-Top Box and Digital TV markets. We are also looking forward to
continuing our cooperation with RAVISENT in other emerging markets," said
Philippe Lambinet, Group Vice-President of ST's Digital Video Division.
"This agreement is a validation of RAVISENT's technology offering in the
consumer electronic industry," said Frank Wilde, CEO of RAVISENT. "Our
technology has always been complementary to ST's vision of leading the digital
video processors marketplace. The combination of ST's leadership in
system-on-chip solutions for digital consumer and the newly acquired software
expertise from RAVISENT will allow ST to expand its technology offering and
continue to aggressively bring state-of-the-art technology to market."
The combination of RAVISENT's award-winning CineMaster CE DVD software product
and STMicroelectronics' STi55xx OMEGA family of DVD decoder processors will
provide advanced and complete DVD solutions for OEMs, allowing them to shorten
their design cycle time and retain a high degree of flexibility in their design.
STMicroelectronics' latest OMEGA processors, the STi5508 and STi5580, are
single-chip devices that offer full DVD decoding functions, including advanced
audio features such as MP3 and DTS decoding, together with high-quality user
interface graphics and fast-forward and reverse modes.
About RAVISENT Technologies Inc.
RAVISENT provides digital video, audio and Internet appliance technology to
industry leading PC, Consumer Electronic and Internet Appliance OEMs, empowering
them to deliver highly competitive, cost-effective products with a strong
time-to-market advantage. RAVISENT software and intellectual property is
contained in products from Compaq, Dell Computer, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard,
Micron, Elsa, Matrox, Iomega, Fujitsu, Quantex, Sony, Tottori-Sanyo, Vestel, ATi
Technologies, C-Cube, STMicroelectronics, Telecom Italia, and IPM. Founded in
1994, RAVISENT is a global company, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with
offices in San Jose, Seattle, Canada, Germany and Japan. More information about
RAVISENT is available at www.RAVISENT.com.
About STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics (formerly SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics) is a global
independent semiconductor company, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, on the Paris Bourse and on the Milan Stock Exchange. The Company
designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductor
integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete devices used in a wide variety of
microelectronic applications, including telecommunications systems, computer
systems, consumer products, automotive products and industrial automation and
control systems. In 1999, the Company's net revenues were $5,056 billion and net
earnings were $547 million. ST's net revenues for the first nine months of 2000
were $5,621 billion and net income amounted to $990 million. Further information
on ST can be found at www.st.com.
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For further information please contact:
STMicroelectronics
Maria Grazia Prestini Benoit de Leusse
Corporate Press Relations Manager Investor Relations Manager Europe
Tel. +39.039.603.59.01 Tel. +33.4.50.40.24.30
Tel. +33.4.50.40.25.32 Fax +33.4.50.40.25.80
[email protected] benoit.de- [email protected]
Morgen-Walke Europe
Lorie Lichtlen Jean-Benoit Roquette
Media Relations Investor Relations
Tel. +33.1.47.03.68.10 Tel. +33.1.47.03.68.10
[email protected] [email protected]
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
STMicroelectronics N.V. has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: January 19, 2001 STMicroelectronics N.V.
By: /s/ Pasquale Pistorio
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Name: Pasquale Pistorio
Title: President and Chief
Executive Officer
