Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has revealed plans to dispose some of its venture capital assets in an effort to restructure its investment division.
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The chip manufacturing firm plans to sell the assets for about $1 billion. The company has given UBS Group AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS) the mandate to search for firms that would be interested in buying the venture capital assets. Sources familiar with the matter stated that the company is in the early stages of the process. They also noted that the company is comfortable with selling the assets as a whole or selling as divided units.
The asset portfolio consists of companies distributed across the globe that exist under the firm’s venture unit. The company hopes to sell the assets to a private equity firm. Intel Capital was initiated in 1991 as the business division of the company that handles mergers and acquisitions. Throughout its many years of operations since it was formed, the division has invested more than $11.64 billion in 57 countries and in 1,440 companies.
The company is selling the assets so that it can focus on its core businesses. Intel Capital’s new president Wendell Brooks stated that Intel is looking to invest in firms that complement its business strategies. She further added that Intel will invest between $300 million to $500 million every year and the invested amount will be pumped into different technologies that are strongholds for the company. Brooks also stated that the firm will take up a bigger role in attracting deals that will be geared towards the company’s activities.
Redirecting focus has been a vital part of the corporate world and most firms have employed this strategy to breathe new life into their businesses. It is also one of the methods that are employed by the corporate world to align firms with changes taking place in the industry.
Intel has previously invested in companies such as Kingsoft, Ninebot/Segway, Clear2Pay, Citrix Systems, Box, Broadcom, VMware, and CNET among others.