Intel Corp.’s share price up, to acquire Avago’s Axxia networking business for $650 million

Intel Corp., which is currently the biggest computer-chip manufacturer in the world, reached an agreement with Avago Technologies Ltd to acquire its Axxia networking unit for $650 million.

According to a statement made by Avago Technologies Ltd, Intel will pay $650 million in cash to acquire the networking business of the company, which was reported to have generated a revenue of $113 million in 2013 and has about 650 employees. The unit has initially been part of LSI Corp., which was acquired by Avago Technologies in May for $6.6 billion.

Currently, Intel Corp. dominates the market by supplying about 97% of the microprocessors used in server systems. However, it has recently concentrated on moving its technology into a variety of corporate data centres such as networking devices and data storage systems.

The Vice President of the data centre group and General Manager of the communications and storage infrastructure of Intel Corp. – Ms. Rose Schooler wrote in a blog post, which was cited by the Wall Street Journal: “With this acquisition, Intel gains a compelling product line and talented team to continue to deliver on this long-term vision.”

The acquisition of Avago Technologies Ltds Axxia networking division is expected to help the chip maker bolster its networking chips offerings to mobile-phone service providers. In addition, the company will become more capable of winning sales, in a market that Intel predicts will be worth $16 billion.

At the same time, Intel shared that it is to work in collaboration with the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The company intends to start using wearable devices such as smart watches in order to monitor patients, who suffer from Parkinsons disease and compile data that can be shared with researchers.

Mr. Ron Kasabian, who is the general manager of Big Data Solutions group of Intel, said in a statement cited by Reuters: “Were exploring how to pull data out of devices in real-time. We can mine data to improve research, and better understand the behaviors and progression of the disease.”

Intel Corp. was 2.93% up to close at $34.10 per share yesterday. The companys shares have gained 51.42% over the past twelve months, valuing Intel at $168.83 billion. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 37 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Intel Corp. have a median target of $34.00, with a high estimate of $50.00 and a low estimate of $17.00. The median estimate represents a -0.29% decrease from the last price of $34.10.