Intel to invest $1.5 billion in 20 percent stake in Chinese semiconductor companies

BEIJING/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp said it will pay as much as $1.5 billion (920 million pounds) for a 20 percent stake in two mobile chipmakers with ties to the Chinese government, in the hopes of catching up in a smartphone chip industry dominated by rival Qualcomm Inc. Intel will acquire the stake in Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics through a deal with Tsinghua Unigroup, a government-affiliated private equity firm which owns the two mobile chipmakers. The landmark deal would give Intel a greater foothold in the Chinese mobile chip market, which has become a nexus of the global smartphone industry.

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