Intel
shares jumped 8% in extended trading Monday after the company said it plans to turn its foundry business into an independent unit with its own board and the potential to raise outside capital.
As part of CEO Pat Gelsinger’s effort to turn around the struggling chipmaker, Intel said in a memo to employees that it will also sell off part of its stake in Altera.
Gelsinger said the restructuring would allow the foundry business to “evaluate independent sources of funding,” and comes days after Intel’s board met to assess the direction and future of the company. The foundry business, which Intel plans to use to manufacture chips for other customers, has been a big drag on its bottom line, with the company spending roughly $25 billion on it in each of the last two years.