Qualcomm and Intel secretly discuss acquisition: Recently, an insider revealed that the technology giant Qualcomm and the veteran chip manufacturer Intel have secretly contacted each other about acquisition. This heavy news immediately caused a stir in the capital market. Intel's stock price once soared by nearly 9.5%, setting a recent high, while Qualcomm's stock price fell briefly.
It is reported that the negotiation took place in recent days, but whether the deal can be reached is still full of variables. There have been rumors in the market that Qualcomm is interested in some of Intel's design business. If the acquisition can be successfully completed, its scale is expected to rank among the top mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry, comparable to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and other large-scale deals.
Intel, once the world's leading chip company, has fallen into trouble in recent years. In 2024, its performance has declined at an even more staggering rate. After releasing a dismal financial report in August, its stock price experienced its largest one-day drop in more than 50 years. So far this year, Intel's stock price has fallen by nearly 56%, far behind the performance of major market indices such as the S&P 500.
Faced with the grim situation, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger recently sent an internal letter to employees, revealing the company's next phase of transformation plan, which includes separating the chip foundry business, laying off 15,000 employees by the end of the year, and selling real estate.
It is worth mentioning that in order to revive the US semiconductor manufacturing industry, the US government once gave Intel a subsidy of up to US$8.5 billion and a loan support of US$11 billion. However, with the sharp decline in Intel's performance, it is unknown whether these funds, which were originally regarded as a "lifeline", can be successfully obtained.
At the same time, market analysts are cautious about the prospect of Qualcomm's acquisition of Intel. They believe that Qualcomm lacks experience in chip foundry and it is difficult for Intel to compete with strong rivals such as TSMC and Samsung. In addition, this potential merger and acquisition case may also face strict scrutiny from regulators. In the past few years, many technology giants have been forced to abandon their acquisition plans because they touched national security or antitrust red lines.
