US chipmaker Intel has bid about $5.5 - 5.6 billion to acquire Israeli big data connectivity company Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:MLNX), sources inform "Globes." The bid represents a 30% premium on Mellanox's closing price on Nasdaq last night. Mellanox, led by founder and CEO Eyal Waldman has over the past few months been in a pricing process ahead of a sale and Intel is by no means the only interested party. There were reports in November that Xilinx was preparing a $5.5 billion bid. RELATED ARTICLES Kahlon confirms Intel's NIS 40b Israel investment Intel in talks to invest $11b in Kiryat Gat fab Intel submits business plans for new Kiryat Gat fab Xilinx mulls buying Mellanox for $5.5b - report Intel has rival activities to Mellanox, which develops chips that allow swifter transmission of big data. Based in Yokneam, Mellanox sells its products to server farms with mega computers such as universities and other organizations including NASA. Mellanox's customers also include Dell and HPE, which build the server farms for huge companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon. Mellanox has reportedly hired investment banks to help find a buyer. The report of Intel's interest comes a day after confirmation that the chipmaker plans investing $11 billion in a new fab in Kiryat Gat. Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 30, 2019 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019
