Intel Hires M&A Expert Matt Poirier to Drive Strategic Acquisitions

Intel's turnaround strategy will include a healthy dose of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. The latest evidence: The chip giant has hired AMD and Xilinx M&A veteran Matt Poirier as senior vice president of corporate development.

Poirier will lead Intel's corporate development team responsible for strategic merger and acquisition opportunities. His efforts will require close alignment with Intel's executive leadership team and the chip company's board of directors, Intel indicated.

Among the interesting twists in Poirier's resume: He only spent four months at AMD, according to Poirier's LinkedIn account. Earlier, he spent nearly four years at Xilinx -- where he oversaw mergers, acquisitions, execution and integration strategies.

Intel Acquisitions: $39 Billion In Cash On Hand

Fast forward to Intel, and Poirier report to CEO Pat Gelsinger -- a clear sign that M&A is front-of-mind for Gelsinger. And don't forget: Intel's financial war chest includes roughly $38.7 billion in cash and short-term investments, according to Y Charts.

Ahead of Poirier's arrival, Intel had been busy on the M&A front. Recent acquisitions include:

Intel's IDM 2.0 Strategy

Intel continues to face fierce competition and supply chain challenges. But Gelsinger has vowed to restore Intel to technological leadership faster than originally planned, Bloomberg reported in April 2022.

Much of the Intel effort hinges on the IDM 2.0 strategy, which calls for Intel to:

Still, the path forward won't be easy. Intel's revenue was $18.4 billion in Q1 of 2022 -- down 7% from Q1 of 2021. Nevertheless, the results -- announced in April 2022 -- were generally better than Wall Street expected.