CSR to return Samsung cash to shareholders by year-end

LONDON (Reuters) - Shareholders in British chipmaker CSR (CSR.L) will get a special payout before the end of the year after the completion of the sale of its handset technology to South Korean electronics leader Samsung (005930.KS).

Details of the $285 million tender offer to shareholders will be announced during the fourth quarter, the company said on Tuesday.

The group booked an operating profit of $32.2 million in the third quarter, up from $24.3 million in the same period last year.

Cambridge-based CSR, which counts subsidiaries of the Chinese government as it biggest shareholders, saw strong growth in its handset business in the slowing Chinese economy.

It recently refocused on its platforms business, helped by the sale of its mobile division in July, which also left Samsung with a 4.9 percent stake in the company.

Platforms, which include Bluetooth, the wireless technology that connects mobile devices, and GPS satellite navigation, now account for more than two thirds of its revenue.

"The Samsung transaction accelerates our strategy of focusing on platforms where we have leadership positions, strong gross margins and attractive growth opportunities," Joep van Beurden, CSR chief executive, said.

The group said that it expected revenues for the three months to the end of December to be between $235 million and $255 million.

Shares in the company were 3.3 percent higher at 355 pence in early trade, the top riser in the mid-cap index .FTMC.

(Reporting By Christine Murray; Editing by Paul Sandle)