The agreement as it stands is actually a renegotiation, so it has history to take into account. It was renegotiated after Intel charged that AMD's spinoff of GlobalFoundries breached the original agreement (which licensed Intel's IP to only a producer of x86 chips; AMD by spinning off GlobalFoundries became fabless). Intel will again charge that a buyout of AMD constitutes a breach rather than a transfer of ownership. Because no buyout (and certainly nothing so big as AMD) occurs without some of the target being spun off, broken up, or discontinued, Intel will once again be able to mount an argument that a court will not simply disdain. The matter will end up being settled (as it should be) by a renegotiation between Intel and the new owner, again on terms very favorable to Intel.
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Once again, there are no substantiated rumors of an actual buyout. Many candidates, including Microsoft, Samsung, Qualcomm, and AMD partner BLX IC Design, have been mentioned; the Microsoft claim is merely the most often repeated (repeating a rumor falls short of being confirmation). AMD has not announced an intent to sell, nor have they retained consultants who specialize in mergers and acquisitions. Instead, they have announced plans for future development that only an entire, independent company would undertake.
So I do not believe there is foundation to rumors of an AMD buyout. There is not interest in the stock such as accompanies buyout activity, there is not any announced or implemented action to sell the company, and there are buyers who are at best only plausible.
---------- Updated at 12:09 PM ----------
Once again, there are no substantiated rumors of an actual buyout. Many candidates, including Microsoft, Samsung, Qualcomm, and AMD partner BLX IC Design, have been mentioned; the Microsoft claim is merely the most often repeated (repeating a rumor falls short of being confirmation). AMD has not announced an intent to sell, nor have they retained consultants who specialize in mergers and acquisitions. Instead, they have announced plans for future development that only an entire, independent company would undertake.
So I do not believe there is foundation to rumors of an AMD buyout. There is not interest in the stock such as accompanies buyout activity, there is not any announced or implemented action to sell the company, and there are buyers who are at best only plausible.