Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), Wistron Corp (緯創) affiliate Wiwynn Corp (緯穎) and US company Jabil Inc are set to submit revised offers for Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s (AMD) artificial intelligence (AI) server assembly plants, people familiar with the matter said.
Inventec Corp (英業達) and Pegatron Corp (和碩), which Bloomberg News previously reported were also interested in the assets, have since dropped out of the bidding, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
AMD, which is working with an adviser, has called for refreshed bids to be submitted in the coming days, the people said.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
The US firm is aiming to wrap up the sale by the end of the second quarter, in a deal that could be valued at US$3 billion to US$4 billion, Bloomberg News has reported.
The sale of the US manufacturing assets, which are based in Texas and New Jersey, come at a time when many Taiwanese electronics companies are rushing to build in the US to avoid current or future tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Bidders view the plants as valuable, because they come with 1,500, skilled employees, one of the people said.
AMD inherited the plants through its US$4.9 billion acquisition of ZT Systems, a deal that closed at the end of March. AMD last year said it would offload the manufacturing business to avoid competing with its customers, such as Dell Technologies Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
The deliberations are ongoing and there is no certainty that AMD would reach a deal.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kunjan Sobhani and Oscar Hernandez Tejada estimated previously that the manufacturing division could sell for US$1.5 billion to US$3 billion.
The server manufacturing operations had revenue of about US$10 billion during the 12 months prior to AMD’s purchase.
For potential buyers, it is a chance to grab facilities used to make servers that are at the heart of the artificial intelligence boom.
Taiwanese firms, including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), rely on Mexico as a key AI server assembly and parts production hub. Since Trump’s win in November, Hon Hai has secured land in the US and last month said it would announce more investments in the US.
The board of its Taiwanese peer, Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), approved a US$230 million capital increase for its US unit.
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