Intel to sell controlling stake in Altera for $4.46 billion

Intel will sell 51% of its Altera programmable chip division to investment company Silver Lake for $4.46 billion. As part of the deal, Altera's value was estimated at $8.75 billion — half the $17 billion that Intel paid for this business in 2015, Reuters reports.

The asset sale has been a key part of Intel's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan's strategy to streamline the business. Under Pat Gelsinger, the company has sought to strengthen its position in AI, where NVIDIA currently leads, but has also begun to lose ground in the processor market.

In 2024, Altera's revenue was $1.54 billion, which is only 3% of Intel's total revenue, and the operating loss was $615 million.

After acquiring Altera, Intel intended to move its chip production to its own facilities. However, the lengthy and costly transition process resulted in a loss of market share, which was taken advantage of by Xilinx, Altera's main competitor, which was later acquired by AMD.