Intel reportedly rejected Arm offer to buy its product division

Arm reportedly approached Intel about acquiring the company’s product division and was rejected, according to Bloomberg.

The publication cited a person “with direct knowledge of the matter,” noting that Intel told Arm its product division isn’t for sale. Arm reportedly didn’t express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations. Representatives for both companies declined Bloomberg’s request to comment.

Intel has fallen from grace in recent years, most notably with recent struggles such as this year’s terrible earnings report that led the company to announce significant cost-cutting measures like axing 15,000 jobs. Part of the company’s plan to turn things around involves splitting its chip product division and manufacturing business, which also lays the groundwork for the company to split up.

Arm, which is majority-owned by SoftBank, makes most of its money selling ARM chip designs to other companies, primarily for smartphones and tablets but increasingly for PCs, servers and more. Bloomberg notes that combining with Intel would increase Arm’s reach into those markets as Intel, despite recent issues, still dominates there.

While a merger of this magnitude would likely face significant regulatory hurdles, that Arm even approached Intel shows how vulnerable the company is.

Source: Bloomberg