Exclusive-Silver Lake, Intel-backed Altera prepares IPO that could raise over $2 billion as early as 2026, sources say

By Milana Vinn and Echo Wang

NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Silver Lake and Intel-backed chipmaker Altera is preparing for an initial public offering that could raise over $2 billion as early as 2026, according to people familiar with the matter, in one of the largest semiconductor listings in recent years.

Silver lake has tapped Barclays, Citi, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley as underwriters for the Altera IPO; however, the order of banks in the lineup is yet to be finalized, three of the sources said, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential. 

The San Jose, California-based company is preparing to confidentially file for the IPO in the coming weeks and a listing could come as early as this year, the sources said, cautioning the plans, including the timing and size of the offering, could still change.

Altera, Barclays, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Silver Lake declined to comment. Citi, and Intel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The offering would mark one of the largest semiconductor IPOs since Arm Holdings’ 2023 market debut, which raised nearly $5 billion.

It would also come as a string of blockbuster listings has propelled the U.S. IPO market toward a record year. U.S. IPOs, excluding special-purpose acquisition companies, have raised a record $137 billion through the end of August, according to Dealogic.

More mega listings remain in the pipeline, including Anthropic, which could go public as soon as October and is expected to raise about $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. That would surpass SpaceX’s $75 billion raise and could push total proceeds this year above the current record of roughly $156 billion raised in 2021, Dealogic data shows.

Altera makes programmable chips that can be used for various purposes from telecom equipment to the military. Its products are used in data centers, telecommunications networks, industrial equipment, aerospace and defense systems, and artificial intelligence applications.

The company was acquired by Intel for about $16.7 billion in 2015 and became fully standalone last September after Intel agreed to sell a 51% stake to Silver Lake for $4.46 billion in a transaction valuing the chipmaker at $8.75 billion. Intel retains a 49% stake. 

Chief Executive Raghib Hussain had previously signaled Altera’s public-market ambitions. In a July interview with Reuters, he said the company was “preparing for an eventual public listing” as it pursued growth in artificial intelligence and robotics markets.

An IPO could mark a rapid increase in Altera’s value since Silver Lake’s acquisition last year. Silver Lake committed roughly $3.3 billion in equity to the transaction alongside Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, a co-investor in the acquisition.

The planned IPO, which would mark Altera’s return to the public markets after it was acquired by Intel in 2015, comes as Intel, under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, continues a far-reaching restructuring aimed at restoring growth and rebuilding investor confidence. Since taking over in 2025, Tan has sought to strengthen the chipmaker’s finances through asset sales, cost cuts and new sources of capital. Last year, the U.S. government agreed to acquire a 9.9% stake in Intel through an $8.9 billion investment tied to previously awarded semiconductor and defense funding. 

Intel has also tapped public markets to help fund its manufacturing expansion and artificial intelligence ambitions. In August, the company raised about $20 billion in a follow-on stock offering, one of the largest equity offerings by a U.S. technology company, with proceeds earmarked for capital expenditures and working capital.

(Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York, Echo Wang in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Franklin Paul)