Intel chair Craig Barrett won’t confirm or deny the buyout rumors that drove up Nvidia stock earlier this week.
In the face of widespread investor speculation that Intel would announce a purchase of Nvidia this week, Nvidia shares jumped more than eight percent last Wednesday. No announcement has been made to date, however, and in an interview yesterday with Reuters TV, Intel chairman Craig Barrett declined to confirm or deny the buyout rumors. “We treat investments and things of that sort like fine wine,” said Barrett, “and we never discuss them before their time, so we don’t comment on rumors of that sort.”
Whether such a purchase could occur has been the subject of ongoing controversy since July, when Intel rival AMD announced its intention to purchase ATI, Nvidia’s chief competitor. As of yesterday, Merrill Lynch analysts didn’t believe there was any basis for the rumors, according to Reuters. “We don’t think there’s a solid rationale for a deal and we don’t think it’s going to happen,” wrote Merrill Lynch analyst Joe Osha.
Source: Reuters
