Conexant Shares Jump on Spinoff News

Conexant Systems Inc. got a big boost as shares rose 42% one day after the Newport Beach chip maker said it would spin off its fast-growing Internet equipment division into a separate public company. Conexant stock climbed $15.56 a share to close at $52.63 in Nasdaq trading of 66.7 million shares--the most active issue on the stock market. The rise added about $3 billion to the company’s market value. The stock, however, is still far from its high in February of $124.42 a share. Conexant, one of the nation’s largest makers of communications chips, said late Wednesday that it will spin off its division that makes chips for switches and other equipment for the Internet.