Biden’s Intel Quandary

Merger activity is alive! Well, maybe. Friday’s news that Qualcomm had made a friendly takeover overture to Intel has given a shot of adrenaline to deal junkies everywhere. This would be a big deal. Despite Intel’s travails—its revenue this year is expected to be less than in 2013, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence—the company still had a market capitalization on Friday of around $93 billion.

An acquisition would end up costing well north of $100 billion, if only because the stock will drift up if talks actually happen. On Monday alone, Intel shares rose 3%, lifting the company’s market cap to $96 billion.