What happened
Shares of graphics and crypto-mining semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia (NVDA -3.33%) tumbled for a fourth straight day Friday, falling another 4% through 3:20 p.m. EDT.
You can probably thank Intel (INTC 0.64%) -- and The Wall Street Journal -- for that.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
As the WSJ reported today, Intel is "in talks" to buy rival Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD -0.35%) old chip-production division, GlobalFoundries, in a deal valued at $30 billion.
The deal, if true, would constitute Intel's largest-ever acquisition, and transform Intel into a major player in the market for contract chip manufacturing -- a market currently dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM -0.34%), and a market utilized by Nvidia.
The combination would not directly affect Nvidia, which according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence uses Taiwan Semiconductor as its main contract manufacturer. It would, however, be interesting in a larger industry context because GlobalFoundries still provides contract manufacturing services to AMD (as does Taiwan Semiconductor).
Now what
In short, the rumored deal would increase Intel's market power, and perhaps by extension minimize Nvidia's. That being said, this acquisition is no sure thing.
The WSJ makes it clear that GlobalFoundries' agreeing to a buyout is not "guaranteed." Moreover, the newspaper says GlobalFoundries' own executives don't appear to be involved in the negotiations, and even deny they are in talks with Intel. (The implication being that Intel is negotiating directly with GlobalFoundries' owner, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment.)
Still, if there's one thing the stock market abhors, it's uncertainty. Until we get a clearer picture of exactly what Intel is up to -- and whether it will succeed -- Nvidia investors may remain nervous about the outcome.
