AMD to acquire ATI???

[Viditor]

From my newswire stream...sorry, no link.

"05/31/2006
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)



By Stuart Weinberg
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Shares of ATI Technologies Inc. (ATYT) are up 6% Wednesday after an RBC Capital note said Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) could soon announce a strategic "tie-up" between AMD and ATI or an outright acquisition of ATI.

"The synergies of this seem consistent with recent announcements by AMD to significantly increase capacity over the next few years," RBC's Apjit Walia said in the note.

Reached for comment, Walia said indications from multiple sources in the ATI food chain - manufacturers and distributors of ATI's graphics chips - have indicated that a strategic tie-up between ATI and AMD, the Sunnyvale, Calif. chip maker, is imminent. He said AMD has the financial wherewithal to acquire ATI.

Walia doesn't own ATI or AMD shares and there are no banking conflicts between RBC and the two companies.

An ATI spokesman said the company doesn't comment on rumors.

Officials from AMD weren't immediately available for comment."

 

[Ackmed]

No.

 

[Viditor]

It looks like Forbes has the story as well now...

Forbes

"The synergies of this seem consistent with the recent announcements by AMD to significantly increase capacity over the next few-years," wrote analyst Apjit Walia in a note to investors Wednesday. "We believe ATI is a rare-buy in the semiconductor space right now given the near-term tie-up dynamics."

Edit: It looks like the market approves...as of 12:34 EST, ATI (ATYT) is up 9% on the announcement, and AMD is up 2%...

 

[n7]

WTF wasn't there a rumor about Intel buying ATi a week ago?

I really don't like the idea of this happening.

 

[Nocturnal]

And watch Intel shoot for nVidia. What is GOING on??????????????????? WoW!!!

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
And watch Intel shoot for nVidia. What is GOING on??????????????????? WoW!!!

Is this the Ace up AMD's sleeve in regards to Conroe? LOL.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
And watch Intel shoot for nVidia. What is GOING on??????????????????? WoW!!!

The problem with that (or Intel acquiring ATI for that matter) is that Intel is already both a graphics and chipset manufacturer (one of the largest)...the DOJ might not allow the deal if it gave Intel too large a percentage of that market.
AMD doens't have that problem...

 

[jlbenedict]

Seems like BS to me.
If this news was even remotely true, Yahoo, AP and Reuters would be all over this. I have yet to find anything on this..

Until then, it just doesn't make sense

 

[NoStateofMind]

Originally posted by: n7
WTF wasn't there a rumor about Intel buying ATi a week ago?

I really don't like the idea of this happening.

yeah, i think it was an inquirer article.


EDIT: I think.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
Seems like BS to me.
If this news was even remotely true, Yahoo, AP and Reuters would be all over this. I have yet to find anything on this..

Until then, it just doesn't make sense

I received it on my Reuters Newswire just a few minutes ago...be patient.

 

[n7]

:Q

Are you saying this actually seems legit?

I don't follow news, so i wouldn't know how accurate your Reuters Newswire is.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: n7
:Q

Are you saying this actually seems legit?

I don't follow news, so i wouldn't know how accurate your Reuters Newswire is.

To be clear, it's an analyst's comment...ATI and AMD have said nothing.

The Newswire services are just that...they let me read news before it gets published in the more traditional places (usually a 5 minute to 1 hour lead time).

 

[Viditor]

Other analysts are now commenting...

BMO Nesbitt Burns analyst Brian Piccioni questioned the logic of an AMD-ATI merger or strategic tie-up, noting that ATI and ATI arch-rival, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), both support AMD microprocessors. However, if AMD acquires ATI or enters into a tighter relationship with the Markham, Ont. firm, then the collaborative relationship between Nvidia and AMD would be impaired, he said.

In addition, ATI licenses intellectual property from Intel and sells chipsets that support Intel Corp. (INTC) microprocessors, Piccioni said. Intel would almost surely stop licensing its technology to ATI if ATI is bought by AMD, Intel's primary competitor, he said. And in short order, AMD would lose customers that use ATI chipsets with Intel microprocessors, cutting off a significant ATI revenue stream, he said.

Piccioni, a long-time bear on the graphics-chip market, doesn't own ATI or AMD shares. He wasn't aware of any banking conflicts.

In an email, RBC's Walia said he believes the pros of an AMD-ATI combination outweigh the cons. He listed branding, manufacturing and the ability to develop chipsets for a captive market among the advantages of an AMD-ATI combination.

Eric Ross, an analyst at ThinkEquity, said rumors of a tie-up between AMD and ATI have circulated in the past. He questioned why AMD would want to buy ATI, unless it wanted its chipset business. Even then, Ross said only 15% to 20% of ATI's sales come from the chipset business, making Asian chipset companies more attractive targets

 

[Vegitto]

OMG . This might mean that, if AMD were to purchase ATi, AMD might be able to produce motherboards themselves! AMD makes chips, ATi makes graphics cards and chipsets. They could design their own servers . Or make graphics cards, themselves.

This sounds like good news.

 

[Munky]

So would this be good news or bad news for Ati stockholders?

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: munky
So would this be good news or bad news for Ati stockholders?

Absolutely amazing news today...the stock is way up (+9.57%)!

 

[TuxDave]

Well I have to admit that if AMD does acquire ATI, they'll definitely pwn Intel in designing graphic chips. Yay for Intel Extreme Graphics!

 

[NoStateofMind]

Viditor, you have created a firestorm in anandtech by posting this! I hope you are happy

 

[JRich]

Just read about it on Forbes.com. They've piqued my interest.

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Viditor, you have created a firestorm in anandtech by posting this! I hope you are happy

I'll get the marshmallows if you grab the hot dogs, mate...

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Viditor, you have created a firestorm in anandtech by posting this! I hope you are happy

I'll get the marshmallows if you grab the hot dogs, mate...

I got the wood!

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Viditor, you have created a firestorm in anandtech by posting this! I hope you are happy

I'll get the marshmallows if you grab the hot dogs, mate...

I got the wood!

So who's bringing the beer???

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Viditor, you have created a firestorm in anandtech by posting this! I hope you are happy

I'll get the marshmallows if you grab the hot dogs, mate...

I got the wood!

So who's bringing the beer???

Zim of course!

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Viditor, you have created a firestorm in anandtech by posting this! I hope you are happy

I'll get the marshmallows if you grab the hot dogs, mate...

I got the wood!

So who's bringing the beer???

Zim of course!

Put me down for the potato salad.

Edit- I really don't see this happening.

 

[the cobbler]

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: Viditor

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Viditor, you have created a firestorm in anandtech by posting this! I hope you are happy

I'll get the marshmallows if you grab the hot dogs, mate...

I got the wood!

So who's bringing the beer???

I've got the Don Julio covered

we'll need lawn chairs and DEET...this could get interesting

now all I want for Christmas is an AMD-produced mobo/chipset with integrated Crossfire x1900xtx daughter cards