Intel finalises $16.7B Altera acquisition

Intel Corp. announced the closing of its largest acquisition, the $16.7 billion deal to buy programmable logic vendor Altera Corp.

Intel said Altera would operate within Intel as a new business unit called the Programmable Solutions Group. The group will be headed by Dan McNamara, an 11-year Altera veteran who most recently served as VP of Altera's embedded division.

John Daane, Altera's long-tenured chair, president and CEO, plans to remain with Intel for a short time to assist with the transition and then leave Intel to pursue other interests, according to an Altera spokesman.

Analyst reaction to Intel's acquisition has generally been positive, with several analysts suggesting that incorporating Altera's technology will improve Intel's Internet of Things (IoT) and data centre offerings. Intel said the Programmable Solutions Group would work closely with its Data Centre Group and IoT Group to deliver customised, integrated products.

"We continue to view Altera as a good strategic fit (albeit a tuck-in for Intel), as we expect combined CPU+FPGA technologies/products to have performance/cost benefits over time," said Ross Seymore, managing director of semiconductor equity research at Deutsche Bank, in a report circulated to investors.

"Combining Altera's industry-leading FPGA technology and customer support with Intel's world-class semiconductor manufacturing capabilities will enable customers to create the next generation of electronic systems with unmatched performance and power efficiency," McNamara said.

Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO, said the combined company would "make the next generation of semiconductors not only better but able to do more." He added, "We will apply Moore's Law to grow today's FPGA business, and we'll invent new products that make amazing experiences of the future possible, experiences like autonomous driving and machine learning."

The closure of the deal was widely expected to occur this week after it cleared the last remaining regulatory hurdle last week, when China's Ministry of Commerce signed off on it.

Intel's acquisition of Altera, first announced in June, is among the largest and most prominent acquisitions announced in what has been a record year for semiconductor industry merger and acquisition activity. The total value of semiconductor industry acquisitions announced this year exceeds $105 billion, more than eight times the average annual value of acquisitions by semiconductor companies over the past five years, according to IC Insights Inc.

- Dylan McGrath
??EE Times