Intel Reportedly Rejects Arm's Bid For Product Division

(RTTNews) - Chipmaker Intel Corp., which is in the midst of takeover speculation amid its struggling financial performance, rejected an approach from British chip firm Arm Holdings Plc for its product division, Bloomberg reported citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Intel replied that the product division is not for sale.

On the Nasdaq, Intel shares were gaining around 1.5 percent to trade at $24.27, while Arm is trading down 1.4 percent at $147.13.

Arm, which is majority-owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp., was interested to buy only product division, which sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and not in Intel's manufacturing division, which operates its factories.

The news comes as Qualcomm Inc. is also said to be preparing for a friendly takeover of Intel, which has been reporting loss in the past few quarters and expecting a loss in the upcoming third quarter.

Amid the significant struggles, Intel reportedly has paused the construction of new factories in Poland and Germany, and also has taken steps to reduce its real estate holdings as part of its cost cutting efforts.

In early April, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Intel had stated that Intel Foundry, its semiconductor manufacturing business, reported wider operating loss in fiscal 2023. The company also warned then that the segment's operating losses are expected to peak in 2024.

Intel Foundry, comprising Foundry Technology Development, Foundry Manufacturing and Supply Chain, and Foundry Services organizations, recorded sharply lower revenues. The newly organized Products division, which mainly consists of processors for PCs and servers, also reported weak operating income and revenues in the year 2023.

Intel added then that it is driving for Intel Foundry to achieve break-even operating margins midway between now and the end of 2030.

Meanwhile, private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. has offered to invest as much as $5 billion in Intel helping to support its turnaround efforts, Bloomberg reported earlier this week.

Earlier in June, Apollo had agreed to acquire a 49 percent equity interest in Fab 34 joint venture in Leixlip, Ireland, related to Intel's chip manufacturing plant in Ireland for $11 billion.