Sony Corporation today announced that it has agreed to buy Altair Semiconductor. 

The purchase price came in at $212 million. In a statement, Sony said it expects to complete the acquisition in early February of 2016. 

Altair, an Israel-based company, owns modem chip technology and related software for LTE. . 

Sony said the acquisition will not only expand Altair’s existing business but will also allow it to move forward with research on and development of new sensing technologies. 

“By combining Sony’s sensing technologies – such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and image sensors – with Altair’s high-performance, low power consumption and cost-competitive modem chip technology, and by further evolving both, Sony will strive to develop a new breed of cellular-connected, sensing component devices,” the company said in a press release.  

With the markets for wearable and IoT devices expected to continue to expand, Sony aims to deliver component devices that feature both sensing and communication capabilities, as well as new LTE solutions that leverage the strengths of these component devices.

No material impact is anticipated on Sony’s consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016 as a result of this acquisition.