Intel Sells FPGA Division — Altera Takes Over Silver Lake for $8.75 Billion

Intel Corp. announced an agreement to sell a majority stake in its Altera field-programmable gate array (FPGA) business to private equity firm Silver Lake. The deal will allow Altera to become operationally independent while Intel focuses on its core businesses.

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Intel has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a 51% stake in Altera to Silver Lake. TechCrunch reports that the deal is valued at $8.75 billion. According to a press release, Intel will retain a 49% stake in Altera. “Today’s decision reflects our commitment to focus on our core competencies, reduce costs, and strengthen our balance sheet,” Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a statement. He noted that Altera will continue to build its portfolio in the fastest-growing and most profitable segments of the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) market.

Altera was founded in 1983 by semiconductor industry veterans Rodney Smith, Robert Hartmann, and other team members. The company specializes in developing programmable chips and related software for industries such as telecommunications, robotics, and artificial intelligence. In 2015, Intel acquired Altera for $16.7 billion and incorporated it into the new Programmable Solutions Group (PSG).

Then in 2023, Intel announced plans to spin off PSG into a separate company, while retaining a controlling stake and intending to hold an IPO within three years. Altera reportedly generated $1.54 billion in revenue in fiscal 2024. At the same time, analysts predict that the FPGA market could grow from $12.1 billion in 2024 to $25.8 billion by 2029.

The Silver Lake transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to the satisfaction of all necessary conditions.