Last February, Intel reached an agreement with Tower Semiconductor to acquire the Israel-based contract chipmaker’s assets. The $5.4 billion deal was supposed to close in 12 months, but now the thirteenth is already underway and there is still no result. The approval period had to be extended until the end of the second quarter while waiting for the decision of the Chinese antitrust authorities.
Image source: Intel
Intel’s Israeli representative felt compelled to make a corresponding statement Tom’s hardware with reference to the local press. Every effort is being made to close the deal with Tower Semiconductor by the end of next week, but there’s still a chance it won’t be ready until the end of the first half. Chinese regulators are notorious for their lengthy approval processes, and it is not a fact that the long study times of the terms of Intel’s deal with Tower Semiconductor indicate the Chinese authorities’ determination to block it.
A certain uncertainty of Intel management about the outcome of this transaction is evidently also expressed by the most recent personnel – the custom manufacturing business of Intel Foundry Service components was headed by Stewart Pann, who has no experience in the profile, but already had one Employed by the company since 1981. It was previously thought that someone from Tower Semiconductor’s management could apply for this position, as one of the objectives of acquiring an Israeli contract manufacturer was Intel’s experience in doing business in this area.
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