Third Point urges Intel to explore strategic options
This article was first published on Activist Insight Online on December 29, 2020. For more information about the product, click here.
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Dan Loeb’s Third Point has called on Intel Corp to explore strategic alternatives, including whether it should remain an integrated device manufacturer.
In November 2019, Activist Insight Monthly reported that Intel had few defenses remaining against an activist incursion.
In a letter to Intel chairman Omar Ishrak, Loeb called for immediate action to boost both the company’s business and its share price, which has lost about $60 billion in market capitalization this year.
“Without immediate change at Intel, we fear that America’s access to leading-edge semiconductor supply will erode, forcing the U.S. to rely more heavily on a geopolitically unstable East Asia to power everything from PCs to data centers to critical infrastructure and more,” Loeb wrote.
While Third Point did not disclose the size of its Intel stake, media reports placed it at around $1 billion.
Loeb said in the letter that Intel’s most urgent task was addressing its “human capital management issue”, as many of its talented chip designers have fled, “demoralized by the status quo.”