Fairstock HK Limited: China Approves AMD's $35 Billion Acquisition of Xilinx

Chinese regulators have granted approval for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to buy Xilinx Inc., clearing the way for one of the largest deals to emerge from the global semiconductor industry.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has cleared the deal with certain conditions, the antitrust watchdog said in a statement. It asked AMD not to discriminate against Chinese clients and to continue supplying Xilinx’s products to the country, after determining the deal could exclude or limit competition. The acquisition had already won the blessing of regulators in the U.S., Europe, and U.K., among other jurisdictions.

Xilinx’s shares gained more than 6% in pre-market trading in New York, while AMD rose slightly. The U.S. chipmaker, which competes with Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. in computer and graphics processors, unveiled the deal in 2020. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su’s signature deal was intended at the time to help AMD re-double efforts to challenge Intel for the lead in chips.

Buying Xilinx, a maker of programmable silicon, will take AMD into areas such as automotive and communications networking, while bolstering its offerings in the lucrative market for cloud data center components.

AMD has made this strategic transaction with an aim to strengthen the company's technology portfolio and expand its rapidly growing data center business amid strong competition.