Apple’s previous GPU supplier Imagination finalizes sale to private equity firm

When Apple informed GPU component supplier Imagination Technology back in April that they would no longer be requiring their services, their shares dropped by nearly 50% by the following day. It has been a bit of a bitter separation, with Imagination saying that Apple would be unable to create their own GPU without violating their patents.

In June, Imagination Technology announced they were looking to find a buyer for their company, and salvage their tanking stock price. Apple supplied a significant portion of their business, and losing that contract meant they lost their biggest client.

Apple’s move to bring their GPU content in-house culminated in the new A11 Bionic processor that debuted in the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. Apple specifically mentioned during their keynote the Apple-designed GPU that was meant to help facilitate their new features like AR.

Now, several months later, Imagination Technology has finally found a buyer in Canyon Bridge, a China-backed private Silicon Valley firm. Canyon Bridge is going to be paying £550 million ($743.2 million) to acquire them. First reported by the Financial Times, Canyon Bridge is backed by the Chinese fund Yitai Capital.

Currently, Imagination is still feuding with Apple, and time will tell what settlement will be made. Whether it amounts to a lawsuit, or a settlement, remains to be seen.