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Investors give new Freescale CEO a warm welcome

Shares of Freescale Semiconductor (FSL) are sharply higher for the second straight day on news that the company has hired a top Texas Instruments (TXN) executive as its new CEO. Gregg Lowe, who has been running TI’s analog chip business, takes the helm immediately at Freescale, allowing current CEO Rich Beyer to proceed with his previously announced plan to retire.

Many industry observers believed that Lowe, 49, was next in line to head Texas Instruments. Lowe has been in charge of TI’s analog chip business since 2001. Before that he headed up the Dallas company’s customized chips business. At TI, he will be replaced by Brian Crutcher, previously head of the company’s embedded processor division.

Bringing in a leader with deep expertise in analog chips clearly makes sense for Freescale, already a leader in supplying silicon for the telecom and automotive industries. In addition, Freescale is one of the semiconductor companies leading the charge to create embedded processors for M2M applications.

Freescale was purchased by a private equity group 6 years ago in a $17.6 billion leveraged buyout. The company offered stock to the public last year in an effort to pay off part of the debt associated with that buyout.

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Martha DeGrasse
Martha DeGrassehttp://www.nbreports.com
Martha DeGrasse is the publisher of Network Builder Reports (nbreports.com). At RCR, Martha authored more than 20 in-depth feature reports and more than 2,400 news articles. She also created the Mobile Minute and the 5 Things to Know Today series. Prior to joining RCR Wireless News, Martha produced business and technology news for CNN and Dow Jones in New York and managed the online editorial group at Hoover’s Online before taking a number of years off to be at home when her children were young. Martha is the board president of Austin's Trinity Center and is a member of the Women's Wireless Leadership Forum.