Intel buys Altera for $16.7B to defend data-center market

Intel Corp. agreed to buy Altera Corp. for $16.7 billion Monday to defend its most profitable market – data centers.

The world’s largest chipmaker will pay $54 a share for the programmable logic semiconductor manufacturer, 11 percent over Altera’s share price at the market’s close on Friday, according to Bloomberg Business.

The purchase adds to a record year for the $300 billion semiconductor industry on the heels of last week’s announcement that Avago Technologies Ltd. will purchase Broadcom Corp. for $37 billion.

Read more from Bloomberg Business.