Intel’s fortunes have fallen sharply over the past year, and chip designer ARM has made “high-level inquiries” about acquiring the company’s crown jewel division, Bloomberg reported. But Intel declined the offer, saying the division was not for sale, according to an anonymous source.
There are two main divisions within Intel: the product group that sells PC, server, and networking chips, and the chip manufacturing foundry. Bloomberg’s sources said ARM had no interest in Intel’s foundry division. Representatives for ARM and Intel declined to comment.
Inter’s fortunes have been in decline for years, but the decline over the past 12 months has been particularly dramatic. After posting a net loss of $1.6 billion in the second quarter of 2024, the company announced it would lay off 15,000 employees as part of a $10 billion cost-cutting plan. Last week, the company also announced plans to turn its struggling foundry business into an independent subsidiary. Intel lost half its market value last year and is now worth $102.3 billion.
ARM sells its processor designs to Qualcomm, Apple and other manufacturers (primarily for mobile phones), but it doesn’t make its own chips. Acquiring Intel’s product division would completely change the company’s business model, but that scenario is highly unlikely.
At the moment, Inter have injuries and their rivals are circling. Qualcomm also recently expressed interest in acquiring Intel, according to a report last week. A merger involving ARM and Qualcomm would be a regulatory nightmare, but the fact that the offer even exists at all shows Intel’s vulnerability.
Intel has other ways to increase investment. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apollo Global Management (owner of Yahoo and Engadget) has offered to invest up to $5 billion in the company. Intel also plans to sell a portion of its stake in chipmaker Altera to private equity investors.
