The move offers Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.) the opportunity to become a major player in the fast-growing mobile handset market and embedded systems sector where products are used in a wider range of markets than the PC industry, according to a statement issued by the company on Thursday (June 4).

"This acquisition will bring us complementary, market-leading software assets and an incredibly talented group of people to help us continue to grow our embedded systems and mobile device capabilities," Renee James, vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Services Group, added in the statement. "Wind River has thousands of customers in a wide range of markets, and now both companies will be better positioned to meet growth opportunities in these areas."

Intel said it will pay $11.50 per share for Wind River, representing a 44 percent premium on the company's closing price of $8 on Wednesday. The companies said the transaction has been approved by Wind River's board of directors, and is expected to close this summer.

Intel said it will manage Wind River as a subsidiary, leaving the division to "continue with its current business of supplying leading-edge products and services to its customers worldwide."

Intel said the acquisition will enable it better target opportunities in several growth areas, including the embedded systems market and other areas like "smart phones, mobile Internet devices, other consumer electronics devices, in-car infotainment systems and other automotive areas, networking equipment, aerospace and defense, energy and thousands of other devices."

The company said the new areas represent multi-billion dollar market opportunity" for the microprocessor vendor.

Wind River (Alameda, Calif.) recorded revenue of $359.66 million in its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, up 9 percent from $328.63 million in the prior year. The company posted net income of $10.7 million, or 16 cents per share, for the last fiscal year, reversing a loss of $2.36 million, or 2 cents a share, in the previous fiscal year.

The acquisition by Intel means "Wind River will more tightly align its software expertise to Intel's platforms to speed the pace of progress and software innovation," Wind River CEO Ken Klein added in a statement.

Under Klein, Wind River has embraced Linux. Intel and Wind River have worked together on several projects, including a Linux-x86 platform for the automotive electronics market. Wind River's Linux Platform for Infotainment, unveiled an auto telematics conference last year, is based on Intel's low-power Atom processor and a variant of Wind River's embedded Linux operating system.