The majority stake of Altera goes to Silver Lake
Intel has struck a deal with Silver Lake worth US$8.75 billion. As part of the agreement, the American manufacturer is selling a majority stake in Altera, 51%. Recall that in 2015, Intel acquired Altera for US$16.7 billion. Thus, the current market valuation of the company is almost half of the original cost.
The sale of the chipmaker is part of a strategy to optimise costs. Intel’s goal is to shed non-core assets, focus on key areas and free up cash. It is also important for the company to strengthen its financial stability amid global economic uncertainty. Under the terms of the agreement, Intel will receive approximately US$3.4 billion in cash. Intel will also retain 49% of the shares.
Raghib Hussain will take the helm at Altera. He will replace Sandra Rivera as CEO. Hussain previously worked at Marvell Technology, where he led product and technology development.
For Silver Lake, the acquisition of Altera represents a strategic opportunity to expand its presence in the semiconductor sector. The firm already has experience with high-tech assets. It focuses on developing promising technology companies.
Silver Lake’s Kenneth Hao noted the benefits of the acquisition. He believes the investment will strengthen Altera’s position as a major semiconductor manufacturer. Hao announced a number of plans, including:
– expanding Altera’s AI and AI hardware business;
– providing products for edge computing and robotics; and
– investing in promising new areas.
Altera business overview
Following the acquisition of Altera, Intel Corporation incorporated the company into its PSG business unit. At this point, the company ceased to exist. In 2024, however, Intel revised its organisational structure. As a result, it spun off PSG into a separate business unit and reintroduced the Altera brand.
The company returned to independent operations, focusing on the design and manufacture of programmable logic integrated circuits (PLICs). Altera produces high-performance solutions for cloud computing and data centres. Altera chips are also used in the automotive and military aerospace industries.
Agilex 9 chip is the company’s flagship product, which is used to rapidly process data from radar and military space equipment. The chip provides the high bandwidth that is critical for such equipment.
In addition, Altera is expanding its product line to support the deployment of AI solutions. Chips are also being developed to address the needs of cloud-edge systems.
