Chip giant Intel is reportedly eyeing up a deal to acquire GlobalFoundries, in a move that would be a shot in the arm of the semiconductor giant’s plan to fabricate chips for external clients.
GlobalFoundries, which came into being as a result of Intel rival AMD's decision to spin off its own semiconductor manufacturing business back in 2009, operates a number of chip foundries around the world.
The acquisition, if completed, could help Intel boost its recently announced Intel Foundry Services (IFS) division, which it hopes to use as a means to increase its foothold in the market.
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According to recent estimates by the US-based Semiconductor Industry Association, around 75% of global chip manufacturing capacity lies in East Asia, with Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung the dominant players.
Manufacturing push
Intel is already pumping billions of dollars to upgrade and create new fabs in the US, and is also lobbying the EU with a multi-billion dollar to help it double its semiconductor production by 2030.
The investments are putting into action Intel’s new IDM 2.0 strategy, an overhauled take on its integrated device manufacturing (IDM) model, which CEO Pat Gelsinger announced earlier this year.
Reporting on the talks between Intel and GlobalFoundries, the Wall Street Journal estimates the estimated $30 billion acqusition would be Intel’s biggest to date.
However, GlobalFoundries has denied it was in talks with Intel, leading WSJ to speculate that the Santa Clara-based company may instead be negotiating directly with Mubadala Investment Co., the US-based owners of GlobalFoundries.
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