A whole lot has changed at Inmos International since Plessey last took a serious look at the company: a big order from IBM for CLUTs for use in the Personal System/2 promises business from clonemakers anxious to duplicate the machine’s graphics, the Transputer is at last being taken seriously as a revolutionary component not only in the UK but in the US and Japan, static RAMs are increasingly finding their way into mid-range as well as top-end computers as workstation builders strive for ever more speed, and the semiconductor industry as a whole is clear of recession and believes itself to be on a sustained uptick; Plessey meanwhile has cash and the need to expand its non-telecom businesses following the outline agreement with GEC, and has shown that it is better than most at managing a leading-edge chip business through a recession, so – Plessey to buy Inmos from a Thorn EMI desperate to be shot of the firm? Not out of the question.
Content from our partners
