Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)(AMD.O) announced on Monday that it has completed the acquisition of Xilinx Inc (XLNX.O) in a record chip industry deal worth approximately $50 billion, giving it a competitive advantage in the critical data center market.
Nvidia Corp’s(NVDA.O)decision to withdraw its intentions to buy SoftBank-owned (9984.T) Arm Ltd, citing regulatory difficulties, coincides with the closure of the deal.
AMD’s acquisition has received all essential approvals, according to the company. AMD Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su told Reuters that AMD’s processing innovations and Xilinx’s system on chips and field programmable chips complement each other. Su explained, “That was our objective in talking to regulatory bodies around the world.” She went on to note that Arm was a significant partner for AMD, but she didn’t elaborate on what Arm’s next plans would be.
The purchase was originally valued at $35 billion when it was announced in October 2020, but AMD claims that the value of AMD’s stock has pushed up the price tag.
On Monday, AMD’s stock jumped more than 4%. Other chipmakers benefited as well. Su claims that the Xilinx acquisition will allow AMD to expand its reach in critical industries such as data centers, where Xilinx has a strong network and AI presence, as well as 5G communications, automotive, industrial, aerospace, and defense. “Those are all industries where AMD has had a very small presence, and they all require high-performance processing,” she explained.
In the data center semiconductor market, AMD is stepping up its competition with Intel Corp. More than 15,000 engineers will work for the combined company, which will rely largely on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) for manufacturing.
The two American firms have profited from a more agile strategy to capturing market share from Intel, which has struggled with internal production. In the personal computer industry, AMD has long been Intel’s main competitor for central processor units (CPUs). Su will serve as CEO of the newly established Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group, with Xilinx CEO Victor Peng serving as president. The corporations hope to save $300 million as a result of the agreement.
Separately, AMD anticipated fourth-quarter sales exceeding Wall Street projections following the announcement of its acquisition of Xilinx.
According to IBES statistics from Refinitiv, AMD expects current-quarter revenue to be about $3 billion, plus or minus $100 million, compared to analysts’ average forecast of $2.63 billion. In the third quarter ended Sept. 26, total revenue increased 56 percent to $2.80 billion, exceeding analysts’ projections of $2.57 billion.
