Intel enlists Morgan Stanley to defend against activist investors
(2024/08/26)
- Reference: 1724693415
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/08/26/intel_activist_investors/
- Source link:
Worried shareholders may drag it kicking and screaming into directions unknown, Intel has reportedly been meeting with advisors to hash out an anti-activist game plan.
Early reports before the weekend [1]cited people familiar with the matter at Morgan Stanley. The financial services firm, a [2]past Intel partner, is reportedly working with the embattled chip shop to fend off activist investors.
The Register has been unable to independently verify the reports - Morgan Stanley didn't respond to questions and Intel declined to comment.
[3]
It's not clear if Intel is currently facing an activist campaign or whether any activist investors have been in talks with the chipmaker to force changes. Given Intel's fortunes of late, however, it's not surprising Chipzilla might want to develop a plan to prevent further rocking of the boat.
[4]
[5]
Nvidia and AMD, meanwhile, have made [6]considerable [7]inroads against Intel's former dominance, putting the chip giant further at risk of seeming like it's not moving with the times.
That competition has contributed to Intel's [8]decidedly dreadful year , which has included a quarter of more than [9]a billion in losses followed by plans of mass layoffs, while [10]multiple [11]lawsuits have been brought by shareholders claiming Intel misled them about performance and growing losses.
[12]Intel: Our balance sheet is a smoking ruin, but we think our new chips work
[13]Intel, already adrift, now Armless too
[14]Intel's microcode fix to save Raptor Lake chips may only work with default power settings
[15]Intel's processor failures: A cautionary tale of business vs engineering
Along with those problems, there's also the issue of Intel shipping [16]faulty Raptor Lake chips with bad BIOS that caused them to experience hardware-killing voltage spikes. [17]Lawsuits over that issue are brewing, too.
With all that in mind, it would make sense if Intel leadership wanted to fortify its position against shareholders, many of whom are already suing the chip shop. It would also make sense if Intel didn't want to confirm that strategy, given it's likely to only further upset shareholders who've shown they're ready to take legal action, and a board insulating its position could be seen as hostile to the good of the company.
[18]
Intel shares have lost nearly 60 percent of their value since the beginning of 2024. The largest drop came in early August after the chip giant announced the aforementioned massive Q2 losses and plans to lay off 16,000 people, or around 15 percent of its workforce. ®
Get our [19]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/23/intel-intc-activist-defense-sources.html
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/03/intel_mobileye_ipo_fabs/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/12/amd_intel_nvidia/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/23/nvidia_pc_cpu/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/09/intel_amd_market_research/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/01/intel_to_ax_headcount/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/25/intel_foundry_investor_lawsuit/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/08/intel_legal_trouble_mounts/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/07/intel_boots_18a_chips/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/14/intel_sells_arm_shares/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/12/raptor_lake_cpu_microcode_patch/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/09/opinion_column_intel/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/23/intel_raptor_lake_instability_fix/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/01/intel_raptor_lake_lawsuit/
[18] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Early reports before the weekend [1]cited people familiar with the matter at Morgan Stanley. The financial services firm, a [2]past Intel partner, is reportedly working with the embattled chip shop to fend off activist investors.
The Register has been unable to independently verify the reports - Morgan Stanley didn't respond to questions and Intel declined to comment.
[3]
It's not clear if Intel is currently facing an activist campaign or whether any activist investors have been in talks with the chipmaker to force changes. Given Intel's fortunes of late, however, it's not surprising Chipzilla might want to develop a plan to prevent further rocking of the boat.
[4]
[5]
Nvidia and AMD, meanwhile, have made [6]considerable [7]inroads against Intel's former dominance, putting the chip giant further at risk of seeming like it's not moving with the times.
That competition has contributed to Intel's [8]decidedly dreadful year , which has included a quarter of more than [9]a billion in losses followed by plans of mass layoffs, while [10]multiple [11]lawsuits have been brought by shareholders claiming Intel misled them about performance and growing losses.
[12]Intel: Our balance sheet is a smoking ruin, but we think our new chips work
[13]Intel, already adrift, now Armless too
[14]Intel's microcode fix to save Raptor Lake chips may only work with default power settings
[15]Intel's processor failures: A cautionary tale of business vs engineering
Along with those problems, there's also the issue of Intel shipping [16]faulty Raptor Lake chips with bad BIOS that caused them to experience hardware-killing voltage spikes. [17]Lawsuits over that issue are brewing, too.
With all that in mind, it would make sense if Intel leadership wanted to fortify its position against shareholders, many of whom are already suing the chip shop. It would also make sense if Intel didn't want to confirm that strategy, given it's likely to only further upset shareholders who've shown they're ready to take legal action, and a board insulating its position could be seen as hostile to the good of the company.
[18]
Intel shares have lost nearly 60 percent of their value since the beginning of 2024. The largest drop came in early August after the chip giant announced the aforementioned massive Q2 losses and plans to lay off 16,000 people, or around 15 percent of its workforce. ®
Get our [19]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/23/intel-intc-activist-defense-sources.html
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/03/intel_mobileye_ipo_fabs/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/12/amd_intel_nvidia/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/23/nvidia_pc_cpu/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/09/intel_amd_market_research/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/01/intel_to_ax_headcount/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/25/intel_foundry_investor_lawsuit/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/08/intel_legal_trouble_mounts/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/07/intel_boots_18a_chips/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/14/intel_sells_arm_shares/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/12/raptor_lake_cpu_microcode_patch/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/09/opinion_column_intel/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/23/intel_raptor_lake_instability_fix/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/01/intel_raptor_lake_lawsuit/
[18] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zsz7BSqe2isTVX76iqmCYgAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Intel shares have lost nearly 60 percent of their value since the beginning of 2024. ....
Catkin
As the article said, Intel's shares
El Reg is blowing it again..
Claptrap314
This is an article about "activist investors". Which used to be (more honestly) known as "corporate raiders". You need to be biting the hand, here. Specifically, we need the appropriate icon plastered all over the article... (See this comment's icon for a hint)
Re: El Reg is blowing it again..
skwdenyer
“Corporate raiders” who might more accurately be termed “owners” if they buy enough shares.
If you don’t want to answer to anyone with money and intent, don’t sell your shares on the open market. Far too many corporate boards seem to think they are (or should be) above the rule of the company’s owners…
Intel has relatively little value to society. Another chipmaker will be along in a minute if Intel were to fall. It may have strategic value to the US economy - in which case the US government can take a majority stake, or legislate to prevent its owners from exercising their power.
Intel shares have lost nearly 60 percent of their value since the beginning of 2024. ....
No they've not. They've "lost" 60% of their PRICE. Intel's value to society will be largely unchanged in that time.
The relationship between a company's share price and its value is at best a correlation.
Intel is in a temporary bumpy patch, having just committed themselves to long term investment. I sincerely hope it doesn't get asset stripped by these so called "activist investors".