Xilinx soars 17% on report rival AMD is in talks to buy it for $30 billion

• Chip producer Xilinx leaped as much as 17% on Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported Advanced Micro Devices is in talks to buy the firm for more than $30 billion.
• A deal could come together as soon as next week and mark the latest major acquisition in the semiconductor industry, sources told The Journal.
• Xilinx closed Thursday with a market cap of nearly $26 billion, making the potential takeover price an appealing prospect for shareholders.
• Should the deal go through, it would fortify AMD's standing in the communications technology space and help it better compete with rival firm Intel.
• Watch Xilinx trade live here.

Chipmaker Xilinx surged as much as 17% on Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported Advanced Micro Devices is in talks to buy the firm for more than $30 billion.

A deal could come to fruition as soon as next week and bring the latest major takeover in the semiconductor industry, according to the report. Still, there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached, and talks previously froze before a recent restart, sources told The Journal.

Xilinx closed Thursday with a market cap of nearly $26 billion, making the proposed deal an enticing proposal for its shareholders. The early Friday rally placed shares at their highest point since July 2019.

AMD shares sank as much as 3.5%. Still, shares are up nearly 90% year-to-date as investors flood tech stocks amid virus-fueled demand.

Read more: Fund manager Brandon Nelson is tripling his benchmark in 2020 with 'less-discovered' companies that become big winners. Here are 3 themes and 9 stocks he's betting on.

Xilinx produces chips used in data centers and 5G communications base stations. Its shares tumbled through 2019 after US-China trade tensions limited shipments from Chinese tech giant Huawei. The firm accounts for as much as 8% of Xilinx's revenue.

Should the merger go through, AMD would gain a stronger foothold in the communications technology business and better compete with rivals such as Intel.

The purchase would also be the third major semiconductor deal of the year after Analog Devices bought Maxim Integrated Products for $20 billion and Nvidia bought Arm Holdings for $40 billion.

Xilinx closed at $105.99 per share on Thursday.

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