Intel on Monday announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell 51% of its Altera semiconductor business to Silver Lake, a private equity firm.
The deal, which values Altera at $8.75 billion, will make Altera “operationally independent,” Intel said in a press release. Intel will retain 49% ownership in Altera, which will be led by Raghib Hussain, who’s set to succeed Sandra Rivera as CEO on May 5.
“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 in a statement. “Altera continues to make progress repositioning its product portfolio to participate in the fastest growing and most profitable segments of the FPGA market.”
Altera was founded in 1983 by semiconductor veterans Rodney Smith, Robert Hartmann, James Sansbury, and Paul Newhagen. The company develops a range of programmable chips known as field-programmable gate arrays, or FPGAs, and the software to support them, including for industries like communications, robotics, and AI.
Intel acquired Altera in 2015 for $16.7 billion, and it became a newly formed business unit called Programmable Solutions Group (PSG). In 2023, Intel announced that it would spin off PSG into a separate company, while maintaining majority ownership and intending to seek an IPO within three years.
The decision came amid rapid growth in the FPGA sector. According to one analysis, the market for FPGAs could grow from $12.1 billion last year to $25.8 billion by 2029.
In fiscal year 2024, Altera generated revenues of $1.54 billion, according to Intel.
The transaction with Silver Lake is expected to close in the second half of 2025, Intel said, subject to customary closing conditions.
