AMD reportedly hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to explore sale

Following AMD's financial woes, word has hit the Internet that the company has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to explore options. Three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that an outright sale of the company is not a priority, and that other options for AMD could include a sale of its portfolio of patents.

The news agency heard that AMD might prove hard to sell because of its dependence on the PC industry and lack of strong mobile products. One source pointed at AMD's game console chip business and the growing focus on embedded chips as the company's silver livings, while others say AMD's most valuable asset may be its engineers or its patents.

Wall Street analysts suggest Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Intel and even Facebook may be potential suitors that could benefit from some of AMD's chip business. Some investors believe it may be possible to turn AMD's business around by emulating Apple's tight control of software and components.

Asked for a statement, AMD said to Reuters, "AMD's board and management believe that the strategy the company is currently pursuing to drive long-term growth by leveraging AMD's highly-differentiated technology assets is the right approach to enhance shareholder value. AMD is not actively pursuing a sale of the company or significant assets at this time."