Intel Corporation signed a definitive agreement to sell 51% of its Altera business to Silver Lake, a worldwide technology investment firm.
The transaction, valued at $8.75 billion, gives Altera operational independence and makes it the world’s largest pure-play FPGA (field programmable gate array) semiconductor solutions company.
Altera has a proven and highly scalable architecture and tool chain, and it is committed to driving growth and FPGA innovation to meet the demands and opportunities of an AI-driven market.
Intel will hold the remaining 49% of Altera, allowing it to benefit from the company’s future success while focusing on its core business.
Who is the New CEO?
Intel also announced that Raghib Hussain will succeed Sandra Rivera as Altera’s CEO on May 5, 2025. Hussain is an accomplished and innovative technology leader with a strong commercial background and engineering credentials. He joins Altera after serving as Marvell’s president of Products and Technologies.
Hussain was previously the chief operating officer of Cavium, which he co-founded, before joining Marvell in 2018. Hussain worked as an engineer at Cisco and Cadence before joining Cavium and co-founding VPNet, an enterprise security business.
Forefront of Driving FPGA Innovation
Altera has been at the forefront of driving FPGA innovation for more than four decades. The company offers leading programmable solutions that are simple to use and deploy in a variety of strategically vital industries, including industrial, communications, data center and military, aerospace, and government, as well as new markets like AI/edge and robots.
Its extensive array of programmable semiconductor technologies, software, and development tools provides the dependability and flexibility required to expedite customer technological innovation.
The transaction is scheduled to close in the second half of 2025, pending normal closing conditions.
After closing, Intel intends to deconsolidate Altera’s financial results from Intel’s consolidated financial statements. Altera’s sales for fiscal year 2024 was $1.54 billion, with a GAAP gross margin of $361 million and a GAAP operating loss of $615 million. Altera’s non-GAAP gross margin for Fiscal Year 2024 was $769 million, with non-GAAP operating income of $35 million. Reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP measurements are provided below.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Intel.
Leadership Comments
“Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to sharpening our focus, lowering our expense structure and strengthening our balance sheet,” said Lip-Bu Tan, chief executive officer of Intel. “Altera continues to make progress repositioning its product portfolio to participate in the fastest growing and most profitable segments of the FPGA market.”
“We are grateful for Sandra’s strong leadership and lasting impact throughout her 25-year Intel career and wish her continued success as she begins a new chapter. Raghib is a superb executive we selected to lead the business forward based on his vast industry experience and proven track record of success. We look forward to partnering with Silver Lake upon closing of the transaction, as their industry expertise will help to accelerate Altera’s efforts and unlock additional economic value for Intel, noted Tan.”
“This investment represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in a scale leader in advanced semiconductors. Together with Raghib, we will be focused on strengthening Altera’s technology leadership position and investing in emerging AI-driven markets such as edge computing and robotics,” said Kenneth Hao, chairman and managing partner of Silver Lake. “We look forward to working closely with Intel as a strategic partner who will continue to provide U.S.-based foundry services and complementary engagement with customers.”
“I am excited to lead Altera in its next chapter, and this milestone with Silver Lake furthers Altera’s journey to be the world’s No. 1 FPGA solutions provider,” said Hussain. “Backed by Silver Lake’s strong track record and now with clarity of focus as an independent company, Altera is well-positioned to build on its momentum and deliver breakthrough FPGA-based solutions that are shaping the future of compute driven by AI. I am grateful for the impact Sandra has made and the team she has built as we begin Altera’s next phase of growth.”
