It’s an ongoing rumour that Qualcomm has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Intel, in light of the blue chipmaker’s financial woes. Now, though, fresh rumours are suggesting that the creator of the Snapdragon chipset is putting a pause on the potential acquisition. At least, until after the US Election in November.
According to sources close to Bloomberg, Qualcomm’s decision to hold off on any possible acquisition until the US Election concludes is because it wants to see how the next administration would react to such an acquisition. That’s a fair assessment, given the current administration’s track record with certain economic issues.
The prospect of Intel being acquired by Qualcomm is undoubtedly a sensitive issue. Not only is it a US-based company, but the chipmaker is also set to become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the country’s CHIPS act – it is set to receive US$8.5 billion (~RM36.7 billion) in grants, plus an additional US$11 billion (~RM47.4 billion) in low-interest loans for its factory constructions within the US. However, as of September this year, the company says it is still waiting on that payout.
It is also worth noting that the US government has been begging other US tech giants like NVIDIA and Apple to reduce their reliance on chips from Taiwan-based foundry TSMC, and switch over to Intel chips instead. For Qualcomm, the wait could be beneficial to the company for another reason; Intel is expected to report its third quarter earnings this month, and analysts are predicting that the chipmaker could lose report another net loss of more than US$1 billion (~RM4.31 billion). Meaning that the company may be able to pay less for the blue chipmaker.
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