TSMC and Broadcom are each eyeing potential deals which would break Intel in two, the WSJ reported on Saturday, citing people who were familiar with the matter. TSMC has separately studied controlling some or all of Intel’s chip plants, potentially as a part of an investor consortium or other structure, the report stated.
While TSMC & Broadcom are not working together, all of these talks are so far preliminary and largely informal, the Journal added.
Intel’s interim executive chairman, Frank Yeary has been leading the discussions with possible suitors & Trump administration officials who are concerned about the company’s fate which is seen as important to national security, the report stated.
TSMC boasts a market valuation about 8 times larger than that of Intel. TSMCs clients include NVIDIA and AMD, which is Intel’s fierce rival in PC as well as server markets.
Intel’s shares lost around 60 percent of its value in 2024 since its capital-intensive bid for bolstering manufacturing and this is a strategy that was championed by Gelsinger which led to straining of the cash flow of the company and led to it cutting about 15 percent of Intel’s workforce.