Intel rejects Arm Holding's acquisition inquiry, says company 'not for sale'

With an all-time low demand for Intel's products, it is evident that Team Blue is struggling to make ends meet. Intel has faced significant challenges, including a sharp decline in market share and disappointing earnings reports, leading to the steepest drop in its stock price in a decade. However, when Arm Holdings approached Intel to discuss acquiring its product division, Intel reportedly rejected the offer, saying that the division was not for sale.

As part of cost-cutting and restructuring efforts, Intel is laying off 15,000 employees, scaling back factory expansions, and suspending its long-standing dividend. Intel's dominance in the semiconductor industry is now diminished with cutthroat competition from companies such as TSMC, Nvidia, and AMD.

For starters, Intel has two main business units: product and manufacturing. The product division focuses mainly on selling chips for personal computers, servers, and networking equipment, such as the Core and Xeon product lines. The manufacturing division operates its own chip factories, aka fabrications, that help Intel manufacture its products. Other clients can also get their chips manufactured via Intel's fabs, but the company has struggled with delays in manufacturing processes compared to competitors like TSMC.

As part of the restructuring process, Intel plans to separate its product and manufacturing divisions more clearly so that the product group can act as a standalone business unit that can partner with external foundries, like TSMC, to manufacture chips at a faster rate.

Arm is not the only one interested in acquiring Intel. Recently, Qualcomm also expressed interest in acquiring Intel's product division. Qualcomm, which specializes in designing Arm-based chips, also expressed interest in other parts of Intel's business, such as its programmable logic device manufacturing company, Altera, and even the foundry business. Apollo Global Management has also shown interest in investing in Intel, reportedly offering up to $5 billion.

via Bloomberg (paywall)