Intel’s fortunes have declined rapidly over the past year, with chip designer ARM even making a “high level inquiry” about buying its crown jewel product unit, as reported by Bloomberg. However, Intel stated that the division was not for sale and rejected the offer, according to an unnamed insider. There are two main units within Intel – the product group that sells PC, server, and networking chips, and a chip manufacturing foundry. ARM showed no interest in Intel’s foundry division, according to Bloomberg sources. Following a net $1.6 billion loss in Q2 2024, Intel announced plans to lay off 15,000 employees as part of a $10 billion cost reduction effort, and revealed plans to transform its ailing foundry business into an independent subsidiary. With Intel’s market value halving in the past year to $102.3 billion, rivals like Qualcomm have shown interest in potentially taking over the company. The possibility of ARM acquiring Intel’s product division, which would dramatically alter its business model, seems unlikely. Additionally, Apollo Global Management has offered to invest up to $5 billion in Intel, and the company plans to sell part of its stake in chip-maker Altera to private equity investors.
