INTEL Corp may pay about RM65 million for a seven per cent stake in Green Packet Bhd, a deal that gives the US chipmaker a larger footprint in the global wireless broadband industry.
Intel, whose chips are brains to most of the world's computers, has been constantly investing in companies in the telecommunications sector, including broadband.
So far, it has stakes in companies like Bulgaria's Nexcom, an Internet service provider using WiMAX technology, Egypt's Orascom Telecom Wimax Ltd, and UK's Freedom4 among others.
"Intel is probably looking at around a seven per cent stake in Green Packet, for about RM2.80 a share. Green Packet is expected to issue new shares to facilitate this deal," said an industry source.
The deal could turn Intel into Green Packet's fourth largest shareholder, ahead of Goldman Sachs, a US investment bank that holds 5.76 per cent.
Intel chairman Datuk Dr Craig Barrett is expected to be in town on Monday, to attend the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2008. A signing ceremony between Intel and Green Packet is due to be held on the same day.
In a statement, Intel said that "it will announce its investment in a listed Malaysian telecommunications company". Green Packet plans to hold a signing with a "global IT partner".
Green Packet shares have done better than the broader stock market so far this year. It was traded at an average of RM4.22 in 2007, with a high of RM5.90.
The company made a net profit of RM30.16 million in 2007, against RM55.29 million in 2006. The lower earnings is mainly due to slower growth in China, and the investments for its WiMAX operations.
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