Rumored to be an acquisition target! Intel's stock price surged by 9.5% at one point

Intel's stock price surged by 9.5% during Friday's early trading, following a report from a technology news website that the struggling company is becoming a target for acquisition.

SemiAccurate, a technology news site founded by Charlie Demerjian, reported that it had "read an email about a company trying to acquire Intel in its entirety," and stated that "this mysterious company has the capability to complete the acquisition." The report also mentioned that SemiAccurate is fully confident in the authenticity of the email, although confirming the relevant information took several months.

However, the report did not disclose the name of the company that might be interested in acquiring Intel. It stated that while it is confident the email is genuine and clearly mentions the company's intention to acquire Intel, it cannot determine whether this is a concrete plan or just a fleeting thought from a CEO.

According to sources cited in the report, the email circulated only within a very small internal circle of the company, which led Demerjian to lean towards believing its authenticity. He analyzed that typically, if a company wishes to use media, public opinion, or investor reactions as a denial tool, it would publicly disclose relevant information in a high-profile manner. However, if a company genuinely wants to acquire a target, it will do everything possible to avoid leaks to prevent raising the acquisition price. Therefore, the way the email was disseminated (or rather, not widely disseminated) makes him more inclined to believe it is true. However, there is still a gap before full confirmation.

Additionally, Demerjian stated that last week, SemiAccurate received confirmation of the news directly from another high-level source, which increased SemiAccurate's confidence in the plan from about 60% to over 90%.

So why all this buildup? Because this matter is indeed hard to believe, but we can once again be 100% confident: the original email is real, and it clearly states that this mysterious company intends to acquire Intel in its entirety. Moreover, this mysterious company does have the capability to complete this acquisition, especially given Intel's current valuation.

Driven by this news, Intel's stock price initially rose by as much as 9.5%, later narrowing to around 7.5%, closing at $21.14 during midday trading.

Intel was once the most influential chip manufacturer in the world but has gradually lost its edge in a highly competitive and rapidly changing industry in recent years. Last month, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger was forced to resign after the board lost confidence in his plans to turn the company around. Last year, Intel's stock price plummeted by 60%, and it has only recently recovered to levels seen in early December of last year. Currently, its market capitalization is approximately $90 billion.

Before Gelsinger's departure, potential buyers had already shown interest in Intel, and speculation about an acquisition has accelerated since then. According to media reports from last year, Qualcomm had approached Intel to discuss a potential acquisition but ultimately abandoned the idea. Similarly, Arm had inquired about the possibility of acquiring a certain product division of Intel but was told that the business was not for sale Currently, Intel has not responded to this news