Intel’s Venture Capital Unit Part Sale Said to Lure Bidders
(Bloomberg) — Intel Corp.’s sale of part of its venture capital portfolio has drawn interest from investment firms including Coller Capital, HarbourVest Partners and Lexington Partners, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investment houses are among firms that have requested information about the assets, which have a combined valuation of about $1 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Coller, HarbourVest and Lexington often buy portfolios of companies, known as secondary direct deals.
Intel is working with UBS Group AG to sell part of the portfolio, which is made up of small- and mid-cap companies, people familiar with the matter said in March. Some of the unit’s employees will probably transfer to the new owner to ensure that management of the portfolio is not disrupted, the people said.
First round bids for the portfolio are expected by next month, the people said. It’s likely that one buyer will acquire all the assets, rather than splitting them by geography or business line, they said.
Representatives for Coller, HarbourVest, Lexington and Intel declined to comment.
Intel Chief Executive Officer Brian Krzanich is cutting jobs and shifting its priorities as the company’s main source of income, the personal computer market, heads toward its fifth-straight year of declines.
The company announced it will cut 11 percent of its workforce, or about 12,000 jobs, in April. It’s cutting costs to focus more of its resources on the more lucrative server chip and Internet of things businesses, Santa Clara, California-based Intel said.
The Intel Capital arm has traditionally invested in startups it saw as either solving technical problems or providing technology that would speed the adoption of computers.