AMD Nears Deal To Acquire Xilinx At $30B Valuation: WSJ

Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD is in late-stage discussions to acquire Xilinx Inc XLNX, and a deal could be finalized as soon as next week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Xilinx acquisition is estimated close to $30 billion, a record valuation in the semiconductor industry.

Xilinx manufactures programmable chips that are used in data centers, telecom including 5G networks, the automotive sector, and in the aerospace industry.

What Happened: AMD and Xilinx have not made any official comments on the matter, and it remains unclear how AMD plans to fund the acquisition.

AMD disclosed $1.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents for the quarter ending June 30, 57% higher year over year.

Why Does This Matter: The semiconductor industry is going through a consolidation phase, as noted by CNBC. The recent Nvidia Corporation NVDA – Arm Ltd. deal attracted criticisms from experts, including Arm co-founder Hermann Hauser, stirring up the possibility of a geopolitical conflict impacting the industry.

Price Action: On Thursday, AMD Stock dropped marginally by 0.21% to close at $86.61 per share. XLNX shares gained a meager 0.15% to close at $105.99.

Photo courtesy: William Murphy via Flickr