Investing.com – Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) closed lower on Monday, after the U.S. chip giant agreed to buy Israeli driverless technology firm Mobileye (NYSE:MBLY) for $15.3 billion.
Intel’s $15.3 billion deal for Mobileye valued the Israel company at $63.54 a share, a 34% premium to its closing price on Friday. Shares of Intel dipped 2% while shares of Mobileye surged 29%, following the announcement.
The deal, represents the largest ever acquisition of an Israeli technology company as the U.S. chip giant seeks to make a big push in the autonomous driving sector.
The $15 billion deal gives Intel a global lead in Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) technology that is powering a lot of the innovation currently surrounding driverless cars, as Mobileye accounts for 70% of the global market for advanced driver-assistance and anti-collision systems.
Mobileye and Intel previously teamed up in a partnership with BWM to help the German car manufacturer bring its own fleet of self-driving cars to the market by 2021.
Competition in the autonomous driving sector has soared over recent months, as auto makers such as Ford, and tech companies including Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) have made huge strides to develop autonomous vehicles.
In February, Ford announced its plan to invest $1 billion over the next five years in new driverless car unit Argo in an effort to reach its goal of launching a commercial autonomous vehicle fleet by 2021.
Intel closed 2.09% lower at $35.16 while Mobileye closed at $60.62, nearly 30% higher.