AMD to acquire server builder ZT Systems for $4.9 billion in cash and stock

Santa Clara (Reuters): AMD on Monday said it plans to acquire server maker ZT Systems for $4.9 billion as the company seeks to expand its portfolio of artificial intelligence chips and hardware and battle Nvidia.

AMD plans to pay for 75% of the ZT Systems acquisition with cash and the remainder in stock. The company had $5.34 billion in cash and short-term investments as of the second quarter.

The computing requirements for AI have dictated that tech companies string together thousands of chips in clusters to achieve the necessary amount of data crunching horsepower. Stringing together the vast numbers of chips has meant the makeup of whole server systems has become increasingly important, which is why AMD is acquiring ZT Systems.

AMD's shares climbed nearly 3% in premarket trading.

"AI systems are our number one strategic priority," AMD CEO Lisa Su said in an interview with Reuters.

The addition of ZT Systems engineers will allow AMD to more quickly test and roll out its latest AI graphics processing units (GPUs) at the scale cloud computing giants such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab require, Su said.

"The main way (ZT Systems) is additive to the company is we sell more GPUs," Su said.

AMD plans to break off its server manufacturing business and sell it once the deal closes, as it has no plans to compete with companies such as Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O), opens new tab, Su said.

AMD has not yet held talks with potential buyers.

ZT Systems Chief Executive Frank Zhang will join AMD and report to AMD's data center chief, Forrest Norrod.

The closely held ZT Systems has roughly 2,500 employees of which AMD plans to retain about 1,000 engineers. Currently ZT Systems generates annual revenue of roughly $10 billion, Su said.