Intel reportedly rebuffed a suggestion from ARM to purchase its product unit

Intel’s fortunes have declined so quickly over the previous 12 months that chip designer ARM made a “excessive stage inquiry” about shopping for its crown jewel product unit, Bloomberg reported. Nonetheless, Intel stated the division wasn’t on the market and turned down the provide, in response to an unnamed insider.

There are two major models inside Intel, the product group that sells PC, server and networking chips and a chip manufacturing foundry. ARM had little interest in Intel’s foundry division, in response to Bloomberg‘s sources. ARM and Intel representatives declined to remark.

Intel’s fortunes have been on the wane for years, however the decline during the last 12 months has been particularly dramatic. Following a web $1.6 billion loss in Q2 2024, the corporate introduced that it was laying off 15,000 employees as a part of a $10 billion price discount plan. Final week, the corporate additionally revealed plans to transform its ailing foundry enterprise into an impartial subsidiary. Intel misplaced half its market worth final 12 months and is now price $102.3 billion.

ARM sells its processor designs to Qualcomm, Apple and different producers (principally for cellphones) however would not construct any chips itself. Buying Intel’s product division would fully remodel its enterprise mannequin, although that situation appears extremely unbelievable.

With Intel wounded in the mean time, rivals have been circling. Qualcomm additionally expressed interest in taking on Intel just lately, in response to a report from final week. Any mergers associated to ARM and Qualcomm can be regulatory nightmares, however the truth that the provides exist in any respect exhibits Intel’s vulnerability.

Intel has different avenues to spice up funding. Apollo International Administration (the proprietor of Yahoo and Engadget) has supplied to speculate as a lot as $5 billion within the firm, in response to a latest Bloomberg report. Intel additionally plans to promote a part of its stake in chip-maker Altera to personal fairness buyers.