By Juby Babu and Milana Vinn (Reuters) -Buyout firm Silver Lake is in exclusive discussions to purchase a majority stake in Intel's programmable chip business, Altera, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Silver Lake Management is in exclusive talks to acquire a majority stake in Intel Corp.’s programmable chips unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP is reportedly in advanced talks over the purchase of a majority stake in Intel Corp.’s programmable chip business unit Altera, having apparently won out over a number of other prospective suitors.

Intel is reportedly in discussions to sell the majority stake in its Altera business to Silver Lake in a bid to offload non-core assets.

Intel is reported by Bloomberg to be at an advanced stage in exclusive negotiations to sell a majority stake in its FPGA unit Altera to private equity

Within the next several weeks, Intel is likely to be broken up into at least two, possibly even three or more pieces, as the world’s largest chip-making firm or foundry operator, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and the world’s number two chip design firm Broadcom divide its assets up.

Buyout firm Silver Lake is in exclusive talks to purchase a majority stake in Intel's programmable chip business Altera, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.