Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal.
Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies.
Photo: AFP
Trump officials raised the idea of a deal between the two companies in recent meetings with the Taiwanese chipmaker, a person familiar with the matter said, and TSMC was receptive. It is unclear whether Intel is open to a transaction.
The talks are in early stages, and the exact structure of a potential partnership has not been established, but the intended result would have the world’s largest made-to-order chipmaker fully operating Intel’s US semiconductor factories, the person said.
It also would address concerns about Intel’s deteriorating financial state, which has forced the company to slash jobs and curb its global expansion plans.
The arrangement might involve having major US chip designers take equity stakes, along with support from the US government, the person said.
That means the venture would not solely be owned by a foreign company. TSMC is the go-to chipmaker for Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and other companies developing semiconductors that power artificial intelligence algorithms.
Still, the possible partnership could run into political hurdles, not unlike those that have hamstrung a proposed acquisition of United States Steel Corp by Japanese maker Nippon Steel Corp.
A White House official said that the president is unlikely to support a foreign entity operating Intel’s factories.
The White House official said the Trump administration supports foreign companies investing and building in the US, but is “unlikely” to support a foreign firm operating Intel’s factories.
Broadcom and TSMC are not working together and all talks so far are preliminary and largely informal, the Journal reported.
Intel interim executive chairman Frank Yeary has been leading the discussions with possible suitors and Trump administration officials, who are concerned about the fate of a company seen as critical to national security, the report said.
Yeary has been telling individuals close to him that he is most focused on maximizing value for Intel shareholders, the report added.
Intel, Broadcom, TSMC and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS