Chip Giants Unite: Qualcomm and Intel on the Cusp of Historic $200 Billion Merger
Qualcomm Explores Merger with Intel: Largest Merger in Tech History
Getting past antitrust review is not easy. Possibility of selling the Intel division through a spin-off
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that US semiconductor giant Qualcomm is exploring the possibility of acquiring Intel, which suffers from poor management.
If Qualcomm’s merger with Intel goes through, it could become the largest merger in the history of technology companies, and the impact of the merger on the industry is expected to be very significant.
However, the likelihood of a successful merger for Intel, which has a market value of $90 billion, remains unclear. Even if Intel agrees to the merger, it is a very large transaction and it is difficult to pass the authorities’ antitrust review.
Intel, once the world’s leading semiconductor company, has seen its stock price drop about 60% from its peak this year. Intel’s market value in 2020 was $290 billion.
Qualcomm’s current market capitalization is $185 billion. Qualcomm is the largest supplier of semiconductors for mobile phones and the largest supplier of Apple’s iPhone and other products.
The acquisition of Intel, a manufacturer of semiconductors widely used in personal computers and servers, will greatly expand Qualcomm’s business scope. Qualcomm and Intel are investing in artificial intelligence semiconductors, but they are still far behind Nvidia’s AI semiconductors.
Intel, once the world’s largest semiconductor company, is currently lagging behind rivals such as Qualcomm, Broadcom, Texas Instruments, and AMD.
If Qualcomm’s acquisition of Intel is completed, it is expected to be the largest technology company merger and acquisition ever, surpassing Microsoft’s $69 billion combination and Activision Blizzard’s acquisition.