By Don Clark
Companies that need to catch up to competitors sometimes try what seem like odd ideas. The deal by chip maker Advanced Micro Devices to buy server maker SeaMicro seems to fit the pattern, and it isn’t the only option that was considered.People familiar with the matter say that AMD–for decades a distant second to Intel in microprocessor chips–also flirted with the possibility of buying Calxeda, another startup developing technology for energy-efficient servers.
Lisa Su, a recent recruit to AMD and senior vice president who led a briefing about the SeaMicro deal Wednesday, didn’t mention Calxeda by name but stressed that her company had examined multiple alternatives.
Karl Freund, Calxeda’s vice president of marketing, declined to comment on any talks with AMD. “We are just heads-down and focused on getting this product out in the marketplace,” he said. “Our plan is to continue to go after this as an independent company.”
SeaMicro, at the same time, made it clear that it had other potential suitors before settling on the $334 million offer from AMD. Andrew Feldman, its chief executive, told reporters that the interest came from customers of its servers, other computer makers and chip makers. “We had many companies excited about what we were doing,” he said.
Behind the maneuvering is a race to cash in as companies stock up on server systems–and find that their bills for electricity are an increasing headache. It’s a big deal for companies like AMD and Intel, which sell chips for servers, and a looming opportunity for ARM Holdings, which licenses chip designs for mobile devices but thinks its power-sipping chips could become very popular in servers, too.
Rest of the article @ Wall Street Journal
