http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware.aspxenhttp://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/21439.aspxMon, 29 Dec 2008 21:57:52 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:21439JeanFAThe upcoming shift change in the administration means that the entire CFIUS membership, and of course, the President to whom they report, will be new faces. Unless a decision on AMD’s plans is made soon, it will be made by the Obama, not Bush government. Bush, along with some of his cabinet’s, longstanding relationship with oil producers alon...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/19288.aspxMon, 29 Dec 2008 21:56:16 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:19288JeanFADetails of the new merchant Foundry to be created from AMD’s manufacturing assets and a lot of money from the UAE. The Foundry Company (which I shorten to TFC) is a temporary title, but it does have the simple, descriptive quality that took Snakes on a Plane past the working title stage and onto cinema marquees. Not to mention that its parent...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/20768.aspxMon, 29 Dec 2008 21:55:43 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:20768JeanFAEven if Intel wanted to block the deal in court, and they haven’t said they do: is AMD going to try something this big without having thought of the x86 licensing issues before hand? We’ve performed a (very informal) analysis of how the x86/x86-64 cross license could threaten AMD’s plans to spin off its manufacturing assets into the F...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/21438.aspxMon, 29 Dec 2008 10:22:36 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:21438JeanFAConcerns about AMD tech in the UAE’s hands surface despite their frequent arms purchases from, and military agreements with, the US. The previous article explained that there are concerns about publicly available AMD technology used by the US military making its way from the UAE, whose government (via Mubadala and ATIC) wants to take a major ...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/21436.aspxMon, 29 Dec 2008 09:51:46 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:21436JeanFALetting a foreign government have significant say in the corporate affairs of companies that supply a large portion of domestic technological infrastructure and parts to military suppliers, rightly concerns the US government. Our previous articles gave a little background on CFIUS, and why AMD’s fabrication spin-off plans require the Committee’s ap...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/21178.aspxSat, 27 Dec 2008 16:53:23 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:21178JeanFAAbu Dhabi government ownership and AMD products used in military technology are guaranteed to draw scrutiny under CFIUS’s FINSA-revised process. Why Does AMD Need CFIUS Approval? Technically, CFIUS filing is voluntary, but without an approval, the President can unwind the transaction after the fact. Therefore, CFIUS approval is a conditio...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/21166.aspxSat, 27 Dec 2008 15:39:47 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:21166JeanFAA bit of background on the body that could radically alter the computing landscape if they take a dim view of AMD's plans to go into business with Abu Dhabi. Without CFIUS approval, AMD’s plans to spin off its fabrication assets will fall through. The deal could be blocked or reversed, even after it goes through, by the President under Exon-Flo...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/20664.aspxTue, 23 Dec 2008 19:44:31 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:20664JeanFAOne Legal Strategy Intel Could Use to Complicate AMD’s plans, and why it probably won’t stick. Of the parts of AMD’s agreement to use Intel’s x86 architecture (and Intel’s use of AMD’s x86-64) that aren’t blacked out, we find an indication that if AMD were to increase its assets or market value by one third, Intel can claim AMD is under...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/20650.aspxTue, 23 Dec 2008 19:20:04 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:20650JeanFAIf AMD’s market value increases by more than one-third, Intel can argue the TFC deal is a change of control, allowing them to terminate AMD’s x86 license. Market Cap as Market Value While there were quite a few assumptions taken in the asset calculations from the last article, market value, and how it is applied by investors and courts,...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/20533.aspxMon, 22 Dec 2008 23:12:00 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:20533JeanFACan AMD make a new company for its manufacturing assets, and have this company make its x86 CPUs under the x86/x86-64 cross license, or will Intel drag them into court? Intel and AMD both make CPUs based on the x86 architecture, which is essentially the only option in PC CPUs. AMD pays royalties to Intel to make CPUs sharing this architectu...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/18869.aspxThu, 11 Dec 2008 14:01:31 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:18869JeanFAA closer look at Mubadala and ATIC, companies from Abu Dhabi. What they are offering AMD, and what they are getting in return. The relationships between the UAE’s government, royal family, and their investment properties, like Mubadala and ATIC, have a major impact on how they approach The Foundry Company project. While the stock and credit markets...http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/18865.aspxThu, 11 Dec 2008 13:43:14 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:18865JeanFAThough there are over a dozen businesses and regulatory groups with a say in the development of The Foundry Company, here are the driving forces: AMD, along with Mubadala and ATIC, two investment firms wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Emirate. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Our previous two articles looked at why AMD would want to not direct...