Struggling German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG [IFX] has hit one pothole after another, but new CEO Peter Bauer doing his best to steer the company onto a smoother path.

The company announced plans to reorganize into five business units:  automotive, industrial electronics, security, wireline and wireless. In a press conference, Bauer also sought to supress recent rumors that Infineon was looking for a merger partner. Reports have put the company in talks with Freescale Semiconductor Inc. and NXP Semiconductors NV, among others.

"In the semiconductor industry, everybody is talking to everybody," but Infineon "won't hurl into any adventures for the sheer sake of size," Bauer said, according to a report today in EETimes. Speculation about potential deals for Infineon flared up after the departure of former CEO Wolfgang Ziebart, who was said to oppose deals with big rivals like Freescale. Fuel was added to the fire after a third-quarter revnue warning.

Whether or not the reorg and Bauer's statement will douse the takeover speculation is hard to tell. But shares of the company traded down 1.4%, to $7.28 Thursday afternoon -- about half of their $18.68 value a year ago -- so investors might be putting some credence in Bauer's independent leanings. -- Olaf de Senerpont Domis

See July 3 report on Infineon in EETimes
See May 30 post on Infineon's Q3 warning from TechConfidential