Intel shares rose after The Wall Street Journal reported that Qualcomm Inc. had made a takeover bid for the company in what could be a record deal for the semiconductor industry.
The talks took place recently, The Post said, citing anonymous people familiar with the matter. Still, it’s unclear whether a deal will be reached, The Post said. Representatives for Intel and Qualcomm declined to comment.
The company’s shares rose 3.4% to $21.87 in New York on Friday, recovering from losses earlier in the day. The company’s shares are still down 56% this year.
Once the world’s largest chipmaker, Intel has been struggling with sagging sales and mounting losses, exacerbated by its loss of technological advantage. At $93.5 billion, the company’s market capitalization is now roughly half Qualcomm’s. Still, the acquisition would be the biggest deal ever for the semiconductor market and could be an industry-changing one.
Shares of San Diego-based Qualcomm fell 2.9 percent, reflecting investor concerns about the risks of such a deal.
Santa Clara, California-based Intel this week announced a series of changes to get back on track, including a multibillion-dollar contract with Amazon.com Inc. to make custom AI chips and a plan to take over all of Intel’s struggling manufacturing operations.
Qualcomm is the world’s largest designer of smartphone processors but is trying to expand into more areas, including personal computer chips, where Intel remains dominant.
Like much of the industry, Qualcomm doesn’t make its own chips, instead outsourcing production to partners such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which also makes chips for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
Buying Intel could give Qualcomm access to its own manufacturing in the United States as well as the biggest brand in the markets for PCs and traditional server computers.
But Intel’s problems wouldn’t be solved by buying Qualcomm, a potential buyer that lacks the manufacturing experience and scientific research experience required for cutting-edge production technology — areas where TSMC excels.
Qualcomm was embroiled in a heated takeover bid more than six years ago when Broadcom Inc. tried to buy the company, which then abandoned a takeover bid from President Donald Trump. The transaction was blockedCiting national security risks.