TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, has separately studied controlling some or all of Intel’s chip plants, potentially as part of an investor consortium or other structure, the report said.
Broadcom and TSMC are not working together, and all of the talks so far are preliminary and largely informal, the Journal added.
Intel’s interim executive chairman, Frank Yeary, has been leading the discussions with possible suitors and Trump administration officials, who are concerned about the fate of a company seen as critical to national security, the report said.
Yeary has been telling individuals close to him that he is most focused on maximizing value for Intel shareholders, the report added.