Imagination Technologies Group has signed a revised agreement to acquire the operating business and certain patent properties, as well as license rights to all of the remaining patent properties, of MIPS Technologies, Inc. for a cash consideration of US$80 million.

The revised offer has been made in response to an offer made to MIPS by CEVA, Inc., to acquire the same assets.

Imagination originally bid $60 million to buy MIPS's operating business and certain patents while ARM Holdings would lead a consortium called Bridge Crossing that would acquire rights to major part of the MIPS portfolio of patents.

California-based Ceva Inc. then offered $75 million for the operating business of MIPS on a similar basis to the Imagination bid.

MIPS is a provider of CPU (central processing unit) processor architectures and cores. In the 12 months to 30 June 2012 the MIPS processor licensing business generated c.US$60 million in revenue and a loss before tax of c.US$9 million. MIPS' licensing business had gross assets of c.US$20 million at 30 September 2012.

Imagination Technologies says that if the conditions to which the acquisition of MIPS is subject (including the approval of MIPS' shareholders) are satisfied, then the transaction is still expected to complete during Q1 CY2013.