Intel enlists Morgan Stanley to defend against activist investors

Multiple lawsuits doesn't mean investors are coming for the board yet, but better safe than sorry, right?

Worried shareholders may drag it kicking and screaming into directions unknown, Intel has reportedly been meeting with advisors to hash out an anti-activist game plan. 

Early reports before the weekend cited people familiar with the matter at Morgan Stanley. The financial services firm, a past Intel partner, is reportedly working with the embattled chip shop to fend off activist investors. 

The Register has been unable to independently verify the reports - Morgan Stanley didn't respond to questions and Intel declined to comment. 

It's not clear if Intel is currently facing an activist campaign or whether any activist investors have been in talks with the chipmaker to force changes. Given Intel's fortunes of late, however, it's not surprising Chipzilla might want to develop a plan to prevent further rocking of the boat. 

Nvidia and AMD, meanwhile, have made considerable inroads against Intel's former dominance, putting the chip giant further at risk of seeming like it's not moving with the times.

That competition has contributed to Intel's decidedly dreadful year, which has included a quarter of more than a billion in losses followed by plans of mass layoffs, while multiple lawsuits have been brought by shareholders claiming Intel misled them about performance and growing losses. 

Along with those problems, there's also the issue of Intel shipping faulty Raptor Lake chips with bad BIOS that caused them to experience hardware-killing voltage spikes. Lawsuits over that issue are brewing, too. 

With all that in mind, it would make sense if Intel leadership wanted to fortify its position against shareholders, many of whom are already suing the chip shop. It would also make sense if Intel didn't want to confirm that strategy, given it's likely to only further upset shareholders who've shown they're ready to take legal action, and a board insulating its position could be seen as hostile to the good of the company. 

Intel shares have lost nearly 60 percent of their value since the beginning of 2024. The largest drop came in early August after the chip giant announced the aforementioned massive Q2 losses and plans to lay off 16,000 people, or around 15 percent of its workforce. ®