Intel acquires FPGA giant Altera for $16.7 billion

By Alexander Joe

Intel has acquired the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) giant Altera for $16.7 billion after receiving regulatory approval from the European Commission.

The acquisition will give Intel access to a whole new range of products in the intelligent systems and Internet of Things (IoT) market.

“Altera is now part of Intel, and together we will make the next generation of semiconductors not only better but able to do more,” said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. “We will apply Moore’s Law to grow today’s FPGA business, and we’ll invent new products that make amazing experiences of the future possible – experiences like autonomous driving and machine learning.”

Altera will operate as a new Intel business unit called the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG). PSG, which will be headed by Altera veteran Dan McNamara, is going to work closely with Intel’s Data Center Group and IoT Group to deliver the next generation of highly customized, integrated products and solutions.

Intel says that it is committed to a ‘smooth transition for Altera customers’ and will ‘continue the support and future product development of Altera’s many products, including FPGA, ARMÂź-based SoC and power products.’

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Intel plans on offering Altera’s FPGA products with its XeonÂź processors.

McNamara, corporate vice president and general manager of the Programmable Solutions Group at Intel, said:

“As part of Intel, we will create market-leading programmable logic devices that deliver a wider range of capabilities than customers experience today,”

He added: “Combining Altera’s industry-leading FPGA technology and customer support with Intel’s world-class semiconductor manufacturing capabilities will enable customers to create the next generation of electronic systems with unmatched performance and power efficiency.”

On June 1, 2015 the two companies entered into a definitive agreement under which Intel would acquire Altera for $54 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion.

The transaction closed on December 28, 2015.

Altera’s FPGA technology is becoming increasingly popular. Intel plans to offer Altera’s FPGA products with Intel Xeon¼ processors as highly customized, integrated products. The companies also expect to enhance Altera’s products through design and manufacturing improvements resulting from Intel’s integrated device manufacturing model.