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Silver Lake completed its purchase of a 51% stake in Altera from Intel on September 12, 2025. Silver Lake now holds the majority interest, while Intel retains 49%. The deal’s announced $8.75 billion implied enterprise value is not the same as the approximately $3.3 billion equity value Intel later assigned to the acquired 51% stake.
Who owns Altera now?
Following the September 12, 2025 closing, Silver Lake’s affiliate owns 51% of Altera and Intel owns the remaining 49%, according to Intel’s closing filing. The parties contributed their interests to a newly formed limited partnership. Intel said it would account for its retained minority investment using the equity method.
So, Silver Lake bought a majority stake in Altera, not the entire company. Intel remains a substantial minority owner.
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The transaction closed on September 12, 2025. The agreement had been announced in April, when the expected closing window was the second half of 2025 and the deal remained subject to customary closing conditions. Altera announced the completed transaction and its operational independence on September 15, 2025.
#1 Best Overall
- Designed for students and beginners looking to understand Digital Logic, fundamentals of FPGAs
- Features the Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA compatible with Vivado Design Suite WebPACK Edition (free download available from Xilinx)
- On board user interfaces include 16 user switches, 16 LEDs, 5 user pushbuttons, and a
- Expansion opportunities with four Pmod ports including 3 standard 12-pin Pmod ports and 1 dual
- Does NOT ship with micro USB cable
How much did Silver Lake pay for Altera?
There is no single figure that answers this without specifying what is being measured. Intel’s April announcement described an implied enterprise value; its September closing filing gave an equity value for the stake sold; and the April announcement separately discussed expected net proceeds to Intel.
| Figure | What it measures and when |
|---|---|
| $8.75 billion | Implied enterprise value in Intel’s April 2025 transaction announcement—not a cash payment to Intel. |
| Approximately $3.3 billion | Equity value of the 51% stake acquired, as stated in Intel’s September 2025 closing filing. |
| Approximately $4.40 billion | Expected net cash proceeds to Intel in the April 2025 announcement, after adjustments for cash, debt-like items, working capital, expenses, and other items. |
| $1 billion | Deferred consideration specified in the April agreement, scheduled in two $500 million installments. The original schedule does not establish whether or when those installments were paid. |
The figures describe different measures and stages of the transaction, so they should not be treated as interchangeable. The $8.75 billion enterprise value, in particular, is not the amount Silver Lake paid directly to Intel.
Rank #2
- Arty A7 comes in two FPGA variants: Arty A7-35T features Xilinx XC7A35TICSG324-1L. Arty A7-100T features the larger Xilinx XC7A100TCSG324-1.
- Internal clock speeds exceeding 450MHz, On-chip analog-to-digital converter (XADC), Programmable over JTAG and Quad-SPI Flash
- 256MB DDR3L with a 16-bit bus @ 667MHz, 16MB Quad-SPI Flash, USB-JTAG Programming circuitry, Powered from USB or any 7V-15V source
- 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, USB-UART Bridge
- 4 Switches, 4 Buttons, 1 Reset Button, 4 LEDs, 4 RGB LEDs, 4 Pmod connectors, shield connector
How will Altera operate separately from Intel?
The transaction agreement provided for separation work to establish Altera as a standalone business, including ancillary arrangements involving intellectual property, government contracting, manufacturing, and transition services. At closing, Altera described itself as operationally independent. Intel’s filing also says that the interests were placed in a newly formed limited partnership.
The agreement outlined an initial six-member board structure: Silver Lake could appoint three directors; Intel could appoint two while it owned at least 25%, or one while it owned at least 5% but less than 25%; and the partnership CEO would hold a seat. It also specified certain Intel consent rights while Intel held at least 5%. These are agreement provisions, not confirmation of the board’s current membership or the present exercise of those rights.
Rank #3
- Altera Cyclone IV FPGA includes 6,000 Logic Elements with two clock multipliers. The Cyclone IV FPGA is the perfect balance of inexpensive cost versus plentiful logic cells, 20KBytes of SRAM, and General Purpose Input/Output pins. This is a great board to learn how to program FPGA's.
- Built in programmer cable allows configuring the FPGA with a single USB-C cable. The DPL can be powered from the USB cable or from the Barrel Connector. A separate JTAG header can also be used to program the FPGA using a compatible USB Blaster cable.
- 6x6 LED Array allows character and animations to be displayed at ultra fast speed. LED blocks can be individually turned on/off to allow LED signals to be used as I/O's
- 70 Inputs/Outputs originating at the FPGA are available at Stackable Headers organized around the edge of the board. The user can configure these I/O's using the FPGA project code.
- The DPL contains two oscillators, 66MHz and 100MHz. The 66MHz oscillator is used to provide clocking for the EPT ActiveHost USB communications core. The 100MHz oscillator can be used by the user clocked up using one of the onboard Clock-DLL modules.
What does Altera make, and where does it plan to grow?
Altera describes its portfolio as FPGA solutions, software tools, development kits, intellectual property, and design services. In its September 2025 announcement, the company identified industrial automation, audio and video, robotics, aerospace, defense, data centers, telecommunications, and edge AI as markets where it intends to expand. Those are Altera’s stated strategic priorities, not evidence that future growth is assured.
Altera CEO Raghib Hussain said: “We are thrilled to partner with Silver Lake as this transformative investment positions us to accelerate innovation and reinforce our leadership in the FPGA market at a time when AI applications are fueling demand for programmable logic.”
Rank #4
- The best way to get started with FPGAs: Using a simple board with projects that build on eachother, now anyone can get started with FPGA development!
- Fun peripherals available: With 4 LEDs, 4 push-buttons, 7-segment display, USB connector, a VGA connector, and a PMOD (for expansion) you can have dozens of fun projects available to you out of the box!
- Works with Verilog and VHDL: No matter which programming language you want to get started with, the Go Board will work for you!
- No extra device required: Simply plug the Go Board into a USB port and go! Getting started with FPGAs has never been easier.
- Works with all operating systems: Windows, Mac, Linux
What do Altera’s reported financial figures cover?
Intel reported Altera revenue of $816 million and a 55% gross margin for the first half of 2025, while Altera was still within Intel’s reporting structure. These are historical first-half figures, not current standalone results.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Intel Cyclone V SX SoC—5CSXFC6D6F31C6N
- 110K LEs, 41509 ALMs
- 5,761 Kbits embedded memory
- 6 FPGA PLLs and 3 HPS PLLs
- 2 Hard Memory Controllers
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