Re: A.M.D. to Split Into Two Operations

Del Cecchi <delcecchiofthenorth@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in part:
> Silly me.  I guessed that this was an effort for AMD to survive
> as a semi-fabless organization, regardless of the statement of
> a previous ceo "real men own fabs".  But Jerry Sanders is long
> gone from AMD and fabs are extremely expensive.


Actually, I read between the lines slightly differently.
Rather than looking for a white knight, I think AMD got an offer
it couldn't refuse.  The key is understanding the main counterparty
is the Abu Dhabi govt technology investment arm.  These people have
patience and long time-horizons.  I expect they'll eventually want
to build a fab in Abu Dhabi, and this is a step along the way.

We'll never really know how good a deal this is for AMD since
we won't know the Foundry's tolling charge.  But at least AMD
will have improved fabs (hopefully both process and volume) to
challenge Intel.  Margins will drop.  AMD fixed costs will plummet
and variable costs increase, generally smoothing earnings.


-- Robert R