Intel Corp responded to a report that it is considering a possible bid for Broadcom Ltd by saying that it is focused on integrating previous acquisitions.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that Intel was considering such a bid as one of several options in response to Broadcom’s hostile bid for Qualcomm Inc.
Intel, the world’s second-largest semiconductor maker, is keeping a close eye on the US$117 billion takeover battle and is eager for Broadcom to fail, because the combined company would pose a competitive threat, the Wall Street Journal said.
If Broadcom seems set to prevail, Intel could step in with its own offer, the newspaper said.
Intel has been considering such a move since late last year and is working with advisers, it added.
While Intel is not ruling out an eventual approach to Broadcom, there are no takeover discussions under way, and that outcome is not the most likely one, said a person with knowledge of the matter contacted by Bloomberg, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
Responding to a request for comment on the report, Intel said that it does not comment on “rumors or speculation” related to mergers and acquisitions, but added that it was focused on ensuring its previous acquisitions are successful.
“We have made important acquisitions over the past 30 months — including Mobileye and Altera [Corp] — and our focus is on integrating those acquisitions and making them successful for our customers and shareholders,” Intel said in a statement.
Broadcom has a market value of about US$104 billion.
Its offer for Qualcomm has been met with resistance, not only from Qualcomm executives, but also from the US government, which has initiated a review on national security concerns.
This week, the US Department of the Treasury ordered a 30-day postponement to Qualcomm’s shareholder meeting, which was supposed to hold a vote on a slate of Broadcom board nominees.
While a new vote has been scheduled for April 5, a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) is expected to take longer.
Broadcom is pressing ahead, vowing to cooperate with the US review and pledging to boost investment in US wireless technology to offset concerns that it would slash spending and allow foreign companies to steal the lead in the next generation of mobile technology.
Meanwhile, CFIUS has ordered Singapore-based Broadcom to provide it with five business days’ notice before taking any action toward moving to the US, three people familiar with the matter told reporters on Friday.
The previously undisclosed requirement shows that the CFIUS is aware that its jurisdiction could be contested if Broadcom moves back to the US.
Broadcom on Friday said it expected to complete its move to the US by May 6.
It said it had petitioned a Singaporean court on Friday to order the convening of a special shareholder meeting to approve the move.
That meeting is to be held on March 23, the company said.
The court would then have to approve the move.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy