Intel is apparently set to split its venture capital portfolio, including assets that could be worth up to $1 billion, although the company has yet to officially comment.
According to Bloomberg, the silicon giant appointed UBS Group to look for potential buyers, with the possibility it could split its holdings based on geography or by sector focus.
While Intel Capital has not commented, it instead pointed to a February blog post by chief Wendell Brooks, which said that the intention was “to continue investing at a robust $300 million-$500 million annual pace focused across the full spectrum of technologies where Intel excels”.
Brooks said the company ended 2015 with “a number of high notes: 64 investments in new companies and 79 follow-on investments, for a total of $514 million across 30 countries”.
Intel Capital holds a broad set of assets, across areas including mobile device security and management, datacentres and cloud computing, IoT and wearables.
Venture capital research firm CB Insights earlier this year said that Intel Capital was the corporate and venture capital player with the most exits in 2015, having “consistently outperformed” it peers by this metric over a number of years.
Intel Capital restructured its venture business in January following the retirement of its head, bringing it under the auspices of Brooks, who is also Intel’s M&A chief, in a move designed to unify its investment decisions, Bloomberg said.
What is less clear is why Intel would now look to break-up a set of assets it has invested large amounts of time and money in building. Its venture portfolio has given it broader access to a set of companies working in high-growth areas, many of which have proved successful in their own right.
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