Speculation is rife regarding Intel's potential sale of its FPGA unit, Altera, with private equity firm Silver Lake Management reportedly in exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake. Other contenders include Francisco Partners, Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, and Lattice Semiconductor, which is also vying for Altera.

Silver Lake appears to be the leading candidate, as it finalizes investment details for Altera, a company known for producing versatile chips primarily used in telecom networks. While discussions are reportedly advanced, the specific size of the stake being negotiated remains uncertain, and there is a possibility of delays or negotiations falling through.

Intel and Silver Lake have not commented on the negotiations. Intel acquired Altera in 2015 for approximately $16.7 billion and has been looking to divest a stake in the unit as part of a turnaround strategy since late 2024. Previous reports indicated that Intel aimed to sell at least a minority stake, which could yield several billion dollars for the company.

However, some bidders are reportedly valuing Altera at around $9 billion, significantly lower than its acquisition price. Before Intel's purchase, Altera was the second-largest FPGA manufacturer by sales, with its main competitor, Xilinx, being acquired by AMD in 2022 for $35 billion.