GlobalFoundries CEO Downplays Intel Takeover Report, Restates IPO Plan

Both GlobalFoundries and Intel are in the process of expanding their manufacturing footprint across the world as high demand for semiconductors has created a global chip shortage that is impacting the IT industry as well as several other industries.

The chief executive of GlobalFoundries is downplaying reports that Intel has explored acquiring the chip manufacturer and said the company is sticking with its plan to go public next year.

“There’s nothing there in that discussion,” said Tom Caulfield, CEO of GlobalFoundries, in an interview with Bloomberg Monday, when the company announced a $1 billion expansion of its lead fab in Malta, N.Y., and plans to build a new facility there. He added that such speculation is expected to happen as the chip foundry, which spun off from AMD in 2009, gets more attention because of chip manufacturing issues.

[Related: Intel Reorganization: 8 Big Changes Made Under Pat Gelsinger]

Caulfield reaffirmed the company’s plan for an initial public offering next year, but he declined to say whether recent reports about takeover interest from Intel were true.

“Our focus is to continue to grow our manufacturing footprint globally as well as in the U.S. and continue to solve the [global chip shortage] problem we have today,” he said.

Caulfield’s comments were made after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Intel was looking at acquiring GlobalFoundries in a move that would accelerate its plan to manufacture more chips for other companies as part of its new IDM 2.0 strategy. The Journal said the deal could value GlobalFoundries at $30 billion and cited unnamed people familiar with the matter.

At the time, a GlobalFoundries spokeswoman told the Journal that the company was not involved in any discussions with Intel about the deal. Bloomberg’s Monday report said that Intel had not made a formal approach to discuss the deal with GlobalFoundries’ owner, Mubadala Investment Co., and that Intel had only explored the feasibility of acquiring the chip manufacturer.

Intel has declined to comment on the story, saying it doesn’t address rumors or speculation.

Both GlobalFoundries and Intel are in the process of expanding their manufacturing footprint across the world as high demand for semiconductors has created a global chip shortage that is impacting the IT industry as well as several other industries like automotive manufacturing that rely on chips.

In the U.S., Intel has committed about $20 billion to invest in two new fabs in Arizona, and it has unveiled plans to invest $3.5 billion to upgrade its New Mexico manufacturing site.