AMD planning on selling, leasing back Texas campus
updated 10:16 pm EST, Tue November 27, 2012
Transaction should generate over $100 million for manufacturer
In an effort to prop up its finances, chip manufacturer AMD is planning to sell and lease-back its Texas campus. AMD expects to be able to sell the 58-acre site for between $150 and $200 million. The move mirrors similar tactics used to generate cash from both the Sunnyvale, California headquarters, and a building near Toronto.
"There are favorable economic conditions in the part of Austin where the campus is located," AMD spokesman Drew Prairie reported. "Contingent on finding an investor who wants to do a multiyear lease-back, it's a good opportunity for us to unlock the value of the real estate to fund operations."
Earlier in the day, AMD Chief Executive Rory Read told investors that the post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend demonstrated promise for PC sales. "We've seen some positive news out of Black Friday over the past several days," claimed Read. "Our performance over that period looked reasonably [good], but I think it's a little early to call the holiday season."
AMD is in a period of cost-cutting to stem the tide of red ink. The last quarter has seen AMD lay off 15 percent of its workforce, ex-CEO and then-CFO Thomas Seifert depart, and a loss of $157 million. The company is suffering from the "post-PC" era in personal computing, and the shift away from desktop computers to a more tablet-oriented ecosystem.
