Jun. 2--Micron Technology has agreed to sell a majority interest in its imaging business to two private equity firms.

Micron will retain a 35 percent stake in the independent, privately held company, named Aptina Imaging, while Riverwood Capital and TPG Capital will control the rest.

Riverwood has offices in Menlo Park, Calif., and New York, City, while TPG lists offices in cities around the world.

The sale is expected to be completed in the next 60 days, after which Micron will continue to provide manufacturing and services for Aptina, according to a news release. Micron will take a loss of approximately $100 million in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year in connection with the sale, the release said.

"Launching Aptina as an independent business entity enables Micron and Aptina to focus on their respective core businesses while continuing to maintain a strong relationship with Micron's manufacturing and process development expertise and Aptina's product and market expertise," said Steve Appleton, Micron chairman and chief executive officer. "Additionally, this transaction enables Micron to maintain a strategic investment in a leading company in the imaging industry."

Aptina became a wholly owned subsidiary of Micron last October. In the fiscal year ending August 2008, Aptina had revenue of approximately $650 million.

Based in California, Aptina is a global provider of CMOS image sensors for digital cameras mobile phones and laptop computers and other applications. Its customers have included every major mobile phone manufacturer, every major PC brand and several major automotive original-equipment makers, Micron said.

Last week Micron revealed it has agreed to purchase Displaytech inc., a Colorado company that designs electronic displays for cell phones and digital cameras.

For more details, pick up Wednesday's Idaho Statesman.

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