Qualcomm approached Intel about a takeover in recent days, WSJ reports
Qualcomm has approached Intel about an acquisition, source says
Potential deal would face antitrust scrutiny and require divestitures
No formal offer has been made, another source says
Changes sourcing throughout, adds more background and details
By Max A. Cherney
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 20 (Reuters) -Qualcomm QCOM.O has in recent days approached Intel INTC.O to explore a potential acquisition of the troubled chipmaker, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday, in what could be a transformational deal in the sector but faces many hurdles.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is personally involved in the negotiations to acquire five-decade-old Intel, according to the source who was briefed on the matter. Another person familiar with the situation said Amon has been actively examining various options for a deal for the company.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Qualcomm explored the possibility of acquiring portions of Intel's design business and that its PC design unit was of particular interest. Qualcomm executives were examining Intel's entire portfolio of businesses.
The conversations with Intel are at an early stage. The San Diego-based company has not made a formal offer for Intel, according to third person familiar with the matter.
The sources requested anonymity as the discussions are confidential.
Intel declined to comment. Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Intel's shares closed up 3.3%, while Qualcomm fell 2.9%.
The approach by Qualcomm comes at a moment of weakness for Intel, which was once the most valuable chipmaker in the world, but whose shares have lost nearly 60% of their value since the start of the year.
A deal, should it go ahead, would likely invite scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the United States, China and Europe. Qualcomm may be required to divest parts of Intel in order to gain regulatory approvals.
A bid would mark the biggest takeover attempt in the technology industry since Broadcom sought to buy Qualcomm for $142 billion in 2018, before President Donald Trump nixed the tie-up, citing national security risks.
Reuters could not determine how Qualcomm, which has a market value of $188 billion, would finance a bid for Intel, which is valued at $122 billion, including its debt.
Qualcomm has roughly $13 billion in cash, according to recent company filings.
It is also unclear how Qualcomm would handle the takeover of Intel's contract manufacturing business. To build chips with an atomic level of precision, Intel has invested hundreds of billions of dollars over decades on its fabrication process and amassed tens of thousands of engineers to do it.
Qualcomm has never operated a chip factory, or fab, and currently contracts the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co 2330.TW and uses designs and other technology supplied by Arm Holdings O9Ty.F.
INTEL'S WOES
Once the dominant force in chipmaking, Intel ceded its manufacturing edge to Taiwanese rival TSMC and failed to produce a widely desired chip for the generative AI boom capitalized on by Nvidia NVDA.O and AMD AMD.O.
Intel has been attempting to turn its business around by focusing on AI processors and creating a chip contract manufacturing business, known as a foundry.
As part of a memo from CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel released a series of announcements that stemmed from a board meeting last week. Gelsinger and other executives presented a plan to shave off businesses and restructure the company, Reuters has previously reported.
The company plans to pause construction on factories in Poland and Germany, and reduce its real estate holdings. Intel also said it had reached a deal to make a custom networking chip for Amazon.com's AWS.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Qualcomm's talks with Intel earlier on Friday.
Reporting by Max A. Cherney in San Francisco, Harshita Mary Varghese and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and David Gregorio
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
