AMD gets anti-trust approval for ATI buy
A fewer smaller hurdles remaining.
By Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service | Published: 13:27, 07 September 2006
AMD has gained approval from anti-trust regulators in the US, Canada and Germany for its $5.4 billion purchase of Canadian chipset developer ATI Technologies.
Anti-trust approval for the deal, which has been billed as a major step forward for AMD in its battle against rival Intel, pushes the acquisition far closer to completion. But it still faces several smaller hurdles, including a vote of approval by ATI shareholders on 13 October, and further scrutiny by regulators in Canada and Taiwan.
The companies expect the acquisition to close by 30 November. ATI has to pay AMD a termination fee of $162 million if it backs out of the arrangement.
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The world's second largest microprocessor maker hopes the ATI purchase will beef up its graphics and chipset business, and give it a new weapon in its fight for market share against Intel. Until now, AMD has relied on third-party chipset makers such as ATI, Nvidia, Via and Silicon Integrated Systems for the majority of its chipsets.
