AMD’s acquisition of Xilinx has entered an in-depth review in China

AMD announced in October 2020 that it plans to acquire Xilinx, which involves an all-stock transaction valued at approximately US$35 billion. After the completion of the acquisition, AMD shareholders will own 74% of the combined company, and Xilinx shareholders will own another 26%. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.

Similar to the acquisition of ARM by Nvidia for $40 billion, the completion of this transaction requires the approval of regulatory agencies around the world. The AMD transaction did not cause regulatory review by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, and the prescribed objection period passed in January this year. Some time ago, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission also approved this transaction.

According to the SeekingAlpha report, AMD’s acquisition of Xilinx has entered the second stage of the review process by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). SAMR’s process involves three review periods. The first, second, and third phases are 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days, respectively. At the end of each phase, the items that need to be reviewed will be reviewed to make a decision to determine whether it will enter the next stage.

AMD is not expected to encounter any trouble in the second stage, but SAMR hopes to understand more potential impacts of this transaction before making a decision. AMD believes that the acquisition should not have too many obstacles, and the transaction can be completed before the end of the year.