LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Intel said on Monday that it has agreed to sell 51% of its Altera business to private equity firm Silver Lake in a deal that values the unit at $8.75bn.
It said the transaction establishes Altera's operational independence and makes it the largest pure-play FPGA (field programmable gate array) semiconductor solutions company.

Intel will own the remaining 49% of the Altera business, enabling it to participate in "Altera's future success while focusing on its core business," it said.

The company also announced that Raghib Hussain will succeed Sandra Rivera as chief executive of Altera from 5 May. It said Hussain is "a highly accomplished and visionary technology executive with strong business acumen and engineering credentials".

He joins Altera from his previous role as president of products and technologies at Marvell.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said: "Today's announcement reflects our commitment to sharpening our focus, lowering our expense structure and strengthening our balance sheet.

"Altera continues to make progress repositioning its product portfolio to participate in the fastest growing and most profitable segments of the FPGA market. We are grateful for Sandra's strong leadership and lasting impact throughout her 25-year Intel career and wish her continued success as she begins a new chapter.

"Raghib is a superb executive we selected to lead the business forward based on his vast industry experience and proven track record of success. We look forward to partnering with Silver Lake upon closing of the transaction, as their industry expertise will help to accelerate Altera's efforts and unlock additional economic value for Intel."

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