(Bloomberg) — Silver Lake Management is in exclusive talks to acquire a majority stake in Intel Corp.’s programmable chips unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.
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The private equity firm is thrashing out details of an investment in Altera, whose multi-use chips are primarily deployed in telecommunications networks, according to the people.
While discussions are at an advanced stage, the exact size of the stake hasn’t been determined, the people said. Talks could still be delayed or falter, they said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Spokespeople for Intel and Silver Lake declined to comment.
Shares in Intel rose as much as 17% on Tuesday for their biggest intraday gain in almost five years. The stock got a boost earlier in the day from speculation that Intel could be broken up in a deal involving Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Intel shares were up around 15% at 3:37 p.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of roughly $117 billion.
Santa Clara, California-based Intel agreed in 2015 to pay roughly $17 billion to acquire Altera.
Intel said last year that it would look to sell a stake in Altera — part of a broader plan by the chipmaker to turn its business around. Bloomberg News reported in November that Altera was drawing interest from Lattice Semiconductor Corp. and a group of buyout firms. People familiar with the matter previously said that some suitors had valued Altera at as little as $9 billion.
Once dominant in the chip industry, Intel has lost market share to rivals in recent years and has also missed the shift to artificial intelligence accelerators. Intel’s board ousted Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger last year after his comeback plan was slow to gain momentum, and the company has been searching for a new leader.
–With assistance from Ian King.
(Adds shares in fourth paragraph.)
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