Freescale to Unload Cell Phone Chip Unit

SAN FRANCISCO -- Freescale is putting its cell phone chip business on the auction block, becoming the latest company to bow out of a business increasingly dominated by a handful of silicon giants.

The Austin-based chipmaker said Thursday that it is exploring strategic options for its cellular handset chip group, with the goal of completing a sale, joint-venture or "other transformation" in the coming months.

The move will allow Freescale, which went private in a $17.6 billion deal in 2006, to focus on making chips for the automotive, networking and industrial markets. ...