What you need to know
- Chipmaker GlobalFoundries has reportedly filed for an Initial Public Offering with the U.S. government.
- GlobalFoundries works with Intel and AMD to produce chips.
- Previous reports indicate that Intel and GlobalFoundries were in discussions regarding a deal.
GlobalFoundries Inc confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with U.S. regulators, according to a report by Reuters. Sources close to the situation told Reuters that the IPO could value GlobalFoundries at close to $25 billion.
Previous reports from The Wall Street Journal indicate that GlobalFoundries may have been interested in some form of deal with Intel. While conversations may have been held, Reuters suspects that this IPO filing means GlobalFoundries is not interested in a deal with Intel.
GlobalFoundries is a major chipmaker that builds semiconductors. Both Intel and AMD have worked with GlobalFoundries to produce chips.
According to the report, Intel has not made a formal offer to GlobalFoundries and might not extend one in the future. GlobalFoundries may be hesitant to attach itself to Intel out of fear that such a move would alienate AMD, which GlobalFoundries works with.
Any potential deal between GlobalFoundries and Intel could also be blocked or delayed by antitrust rulings. NVIDIA's proposed purchase of Arm has been held back due to several legal hurdles. A move to go public by GlobalFoundries would eliminate many potential legal battles.
Sources told Reuters that Global Foundries is working with Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup, and Credit Suisse Group AG to prepare the IPO filing.
The filing is expected to be revealed in October, with plans for it to go through by the end of 2021. Sources told Reuters that the plans of GlobalFoundries could change due to market conditions and that the timing of the filing could change as well. The move would also be subject to the timing of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
