After largely missing the mobile phone revolution, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is taking steps to make sure it doesn’t miss out on tech’s newest sure thing.
The company has reportedly agreed to pay $15.3 billion for driverless self-driving car technology firm Mobileye (NYSE:MBLY), an offer worth $63.54 per share. If the deal goes through, it will mark the largest deal in that part of the tech sector to date.
Intel had previously identified self-driving cars as an area of interest, which included a joint venture with BMW (announced in January) to build a fleet of autonomous cars as a test project. The joint venture is projected to hit the road sometime in 2018.
Mobileye instantly gives Intel a huge presence in the self-driving car market. Mobileye is known for its collision detection software, but it also supplies cameras and chips to as many as two dozen car manufacturers today.
It’s easy to say Intel overpaid for Mobileye. The latter did only $358 million in revenue in 2016, earning $108 million after tax. That means Intel paid a little more than 140 times earnings, an expensive price tag even considering Mobileye’s impressive growth rate.
Intel is obviously looking at this deal from a long-term perspective. The company estimates the vehicle systems, data, and services market to be worth $70 billion annually by 2030. If that’s the case, Mobileye’s patents and other intellectual property will be worth far more than $15.3 billion.
Mobileye shares shot up $14.01 each or 29.5% on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting $61.28 in late morning trading. Intel shares fell $0.78 each, or 2.2%.
