Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/07/01/amd_walks_fab_funding_tightrope/

AMD walks fab funding tightrope

If it couldn't have changed its lending terms, it would have to have offered stock

By Mike Magee

Posted in On-Prem, 1st July 1999 07:11 GMT

The Great Satan of Tape Recorders (AMD) announced yesterday that it struck a deal with a German bank consortium which meant it did not need to raise $200 million in stock. AMD said last week that its second quarter would mean a $200 million loss for the company. Part of the problem in Q2 is it has stock of chips it cannot sell. The company borrowed money to build and open its Dresden fabrication plant, number 30. That money is due to be repaid. One option for AMD would have been to attempt to raise $200 million by offering more shares on the Stock Exchange. That would have been very tricky in AMD's current circumstances. William Jeremiah Sanders III, CEO of AMD, is famous for his pithy epithet: "Only real men have fabs". ® RegisterFact We call AMD the Great Satan of Tape Recorders after an incident some years ago where the company attempted to tape record our conversation. The reason? We'd reported that Sanders was attempting to sell the company...