Intel says no to Shiva sell-off

Chip giant Intel rejected an offer from Perle Systems to buy its Shiva business, after having already decided to close the division and stop supplying the channel.

Chip giant Intel rejected an offer from Perle Systems to buy its Shiva business, after having already decided to close the division and stop supplying the channel.

Intel announced the decision to close down Shiva at the beginning of this year, and said resellers would be able to source the remote-access products only until 5 February. But some resellers claimed they were not given enough time to stock up.

A Perle representative said Intel declined an offer from the remote-connectivity vendor to buy Shiva when it made an approach last month.

Peter Graham, vice-president of sales and marketing EMEA, said: "Our chief executive, Joe Perle, actually approached Intel looking to buy the Shiva unit, but the company wasn't interested in selling it and decided to shut it down."

A representative from Intel declined to comment on the matter.

Clive Longbottom, an analyst at Quocirca, said: "It seems a bit high-handed of Intel to shut down Shiva just because it no longer believes in remote access."

He added that it would have been better for the channel if Intel allowed Shiva to keep going through a company that believed in the future of the technology.

Nick Patching, sales manager at reseller Graham Sutch Associates, said that because of recent investments made by customers, he was surprised by Intel's decision to shut down Shiva. "The high demand for Lan and Wan products means there is always a need for remote-access equipment," he said.

Phil Kennerdal, senior sales consultant at reseller Abtec Network Systems, said Intel could have lessened the impact on resellers if it had sold Shiva.

According to Graham, since news of possible shortages was reported, Perle has been approached by more than 80 resellers that had been selling Shiva products and now need to fill gaps in their product portfolios.