Wall Street Journal: Intel is about to acquire the Israeli chipmaker Tower for $ 6 billion

"Tower" is close to a huge exit. According to a publication in the Wall Street Journal, Intel is about to acquire the Israeli chipmaker for $ 6 billion. The purpose of the acquisition is to expand the production capacity of the American chip giant, which has been suffering from difficulties for the past year. According to estimates, the companies may announce the deal later this week.
Tower, led by Russell Ellwanger, jumped 48.1% in late-year trading in New York. The company, which is also traded in Tel Aviv, closed the day on NASDAQ at a value of $ 3.6 billion, so the value of the deal reflects a premium of 67%.
Tower employs about 6,000 people in its factories in Migdal Haemek. If implemented, it would be Intel's biggest acquisition after Mobilai, for which it paid $ 15 billion in 2017. The acquisition comes as part of Intel's campaign to focus on its traditional chipset, led by CEO Pat Glasinger.
Tower, whose shares grew in the United States at a rate of 53% in expanded trading, specializes in analog chips used in the automotive, mobile, medical and aerospace industries. It had a market capitalization of $ 3.6 billion as of closing on Monday. Neither Intel nor Tower responded immediately to requests to comment.
Chip manufacturing is expensive and difficult, which is why most companies design or manufacture. Intel has opened its factories to competing semiconductor designers to disperse costs. Shares of Intel rose 0.4% following the news of the Tower Semiconductor deal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Tower shares have weakened 16.5% since the beginning of the year and in the last 12 months have recorded a modest rise of 0.6%. Intel ended the day yesterday at a market value of $ 193.8 billion, and since the beginning of the year has mimicked a 23% campaign.