Intel has announced a definitive agreement to sell a 51% stake in its Altera semiconductor business to private equity giant Silver Lake, valuing the unit at $8.75 billion. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2025, will make Altera an operationally independent company while Intel retains a 49% minority stake.
The move is part of Intel’s broader strategy to streamline operations, reduce expenses, and strengthen its balance sheet as it navigates a competitive and rapidly evolving semiconductor landscape.
“Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to sharpening our focus, lowering our expense structure, and strengthening our balance sheet,” said Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. “Altera continues to make progress repositioning its product portfolio to participate in the fastest growing and most profitable segments of the FPGA market.”
Altera, known for its field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), was acquired by Intel in 2015 for $16.7 billion and integrated into Intel as the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG). In 2023, Intel revealed plans to spin off PSG and pursue an IPO within three years—a plan accelerated by the Silver Lake deal.
Leadership at Altera will also see a transition, with Raghib Hussain taking over as CEO from Sandra Rivera on May 5. The company, founded in 1983, serves key industries such as communications, robotics, and artificial intelligence with its versatile programmable chips.
The FPGA market is experiencing robust growth, projected to expand from $12.1 billion in 2023 to $25.8 billion by 2029. Altera posted $1.54 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2024, indicating solid performance amid this upward trend.
As Intel doubles down on its core businesses, the partial divestiture of Altera marks a strategic shift—one that enables the newly independent company to tap into high-growth opportunities in the FPGA space while giving Intel a leaner profile and future upside through its retained ownership.
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