- GlobalFoundries Inc has filed with U.S regulators for an initial public offering in New York that could value the chipmaker at approximately $25 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The move is the clearest sign yet that GlobalFoundries, which is owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., is not eager to accept a potential tie up with Intel Corp which Wall Street Journal reported last month in talks to acquire the U.S. chipmaker.
GlobalFoundries is working with Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase Co, Citigroup Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG on the IPO preparations, the sources said.
GlobalFoundries will disclose its IPO filing in October and maybe go public once the year ends or early next year, depending on how quickly its application is processed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, sources said.
The sources, who requested anonymity because the deliberations are confidential, cautioned that the chipmaker's plans were subject to market conditions and that the timing could change.
Intel has yet to make a formal offer for GlobalFoundries and may not do so, according to the sources. GlobalFoundries is concerned that such a combination would upset some key customers that compete with Intel, such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the sources said. It could also face hostile antitrust scrutiny from the Obama administration, which has become stronger against transformative mergers, sources added.
Mubadala, GlobalFoundries and Intel declined to comment. The banks, the White House, Advanced Micro Devices and the SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
GlobalFoundries' IPO filing comes amid a boom in capital markets, with other high-profile names such as Robinhood Markets Inc, Coinbase Global and Roblox Corp already taking advantage of public listings this year.
GlobalFoundries manufactures radio-frequency communication chips for 5 G, automotive, and other specialized semiconductors and has emerged as a major resource for companies such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices that have outsourced parts of their chip production. It was created when Advanced Micro Devices spun off its manufacturing facilities in 2009 and Mubadala spun it with Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.
Tom Caulfield, CEO of GlobalFoundries, told Reuters in July that the chipmaker was planning to go public in 2022. The chipmaker has pledged to boost output to meet robust demand and announced plans to build a second factory near the headquarters of the US chipmaker in Malta, New York, to address the global chip shortage.