Intel may acquire smaller chip Altera for $15 billion: reports
29 May 2015
Intel is in talks to acquiring smaller rival Altera for about $15 billion, the New York Post reported, citing a source close to the deal.
It said Intel could pay as much as $54 a share - a 15 per cent premium over Altera's closing price yesterday of $46.97.
If the deal were to be finally clinched it would be the biggest acquisition for $160-billion-market-cap Intel, helping it move away from PC sales into faster-growing sectors like Altera's data centre programmable chips.
According to a CNBC report earlier this month, the two companies had resumed talks about a possible deal, after negotiations in April, failed.
If the talks proceed, a deal would be likely by the end of next week.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Intel had signed a standstill agreement earlier this year with Altera that expires on 1 June, giving the world's largest chip maker the option to launch a hostile bid after that.
In April, Altera rejected an unsolicited $54 per share offer from Intel following months of negotiations, the sources told Reuters.
However the talks were revived in May (See: Intel Corp, Altera Corp resume buyout talks).
