Reuters: AMD hires JPMorgan Chase to evaluate financials
updated 05:44 pm EST, Tue November 13, 2012
Possible sale of patents or company being examined
Chip designer and manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices has brought JPMorgan Chase & Company in to evaluate future fiduciary options, including a possible sale, according to sources familiar with the situation. Sources told Reuters that a sale of the company is on the table, but not a priority, and other possibilities include a sale of its lucrative patent portfolio.
"AMD's board and management believe that the strategy the company is currently pursuing to drive long-term growth by leveraging AMD's highly-differentiated technology assets is the right approach to enhance shareholder value," spokesman Drew Prairie said.
AMD's stock rose five percent on the news, ending at $2.09 on the day. The shares have plummeted more than 60 percent this year due to it suffering from the industry's transition to mobile. The company has a market value of $1.4 billion, well below its debt obligations of $2 billion. Google, Samsung, Intel, and Microsoft have been named by analysts as potential purchasers that would benefit from AMD's misfortune, either by buying the company wholesale or investing in its patents.
Following the departure of its Chief Financial Officer Thomas Seifert in September, AMD announced layoffs of 15 percent of its workforce less than a month later. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon compared AMD's decline as "watching a slow-motion train wreck."
