Chip maker AMD not for sale, CEO says

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is not for sale, however the chip maker will listen to interesting proposals, its chief executive said when asked about Oracle's recent interest in the sector.

"AMD is not for sale, but we are happy to listen to any proposal which is in the interest to our shareholders," Chief Executive Dirk Meyer told an industry conference in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Larry Ellison, chief executive of Oracle, said last month his firm is keen to make more acquisitions to bolster its technology and a microchip company could be a good fit.

AMD is the second largest supplier, after Intel, of processors based on the x86 architecture that powers most PCs and servers.

AMD started to see new rivalry from chip manufacturers using designs of ARM as computer and cellphone industry borders have begun to blur.

"I don't really view ARM as a threat," Meyer said, adding he saw major growth opportunities in the industry.

ARM's chip designs are relatively simpler and use less power, making them dominant in mobile phones and embedded electronics.

ARM's chip designs are also running tablet computers, such as Apple's iPad, and its customers are developing processors for servers, although it will be about five years before products are on the market.

AMD shares have taken a beating because of poor demand for computers, but the chip maker wants to reclaim market share lost to Intel in past years with its new line of "Fusion" chips, which it says combines graphics and computing power better in a single chip than rivals.

(Additional reporting by Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Sharon Lindores)