Over the past week, reports have surfaced suggesting potential interest from industry heavyweights. The Wall Street Journal claims Broadcom is eyeing Intel’s chip design and marketing business, while Bloomberg reports that TSMC has held discussions about acquiring its US-based factories.
In response, Intel’s stock jumped to $26.13 — a level it hasn’t reached since mid-November 2024 and only the second time it has climbed above $26 since last summer when the company’s financial troubles became impossible to ignore.
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The proposed talks, believed to be at a preliminary stage according to the Journal, see TSMC eying Intel sites which it could own as part of a consortium or similar investment structure.
Intel owns three fab production sites in the US: Chandler, Arizona, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and Hillsboro, Oregon, while also constructing new plants through funds made available via the CHIPS Act, though the final amount has since been slashed by the Biden administration.
Broadcom, meanwhile, is reportedly vying for Intel’s design division, which develops units such as its leading processors for PCs, as well as its data centre silicon, like the upcoming Gaudi 3 AI accelerators.
Capacity has contacted both Broadcom and TSMC for comment.
This isn’t the first time reports have surfaced about a potential takeover. Qualcomm was believed to be among the leading suitors looking to take on the embattled company, but its interest cooled last November over concerns about a potential deal’s complexity.
Any potential purchase of Intel outright would inevitably lead to one of the largest takeovers in tech history.
Intel finds itself in the mire after a period of decline that saw it lose ground to the likes of TSMC on the foundry side and Nvidia on the design side.
CEO Pat Gelsinger departed in early December but not before overseeing a slight glimmer of hope in the form of revenue growth across its entire portfolio — though the company did report significant losses from a structural overhaul and drastic cost-cutting.
Intel’s most recent earnings report saw the company beat revenue forecasts at $14.3 billion, which was higher than the anticipated $13.83 billion, but still down 7% year-over-year (YoY).
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