Huawei is in advanced talks to sell its x86 server business after the US blacklisting of the company made it difficult to secure processors from Intel, Bloomberg reports. People familiar with the matter said the company is selling the server business to a consortium that includes at least one government-backed buyer.
The precise value of the deal was not known, but it’s likely billions of yuan, the report said. Several potential buyers from government and the private sector emerged in recent months, with Henan Information Industry, a Zhengzhou-based state-owned firm that has been a partner of Huawei’s server business, considered a leading player. Consumer electronics maker Huaqin Technology and an asset management company representing the Hubei provincial government also are involved in the talks, the people said.
Huawei declined to comment, and the potential buyers didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Huawei already sold off its smartphone business Honor so it avoid the US sanctions. However, the divestment and the ongoing toll of the restrictions on doing business with US companies led the company to report a 35 percent fall in its third-quarter sales, the fourth straight quarterly decline.
The x86 server line is not a core business for Huawei. The company has developed its own servers for its cloud-computing business, powered by ARM-based processors that use Huawei’s Kunpeng technology.
