Stories of AMD’s business being split into a processor company and a separate manufacturing company have been around for quite a while but it looks like the movement is picking up steam.  Will AMD be cut in half this year and what part does Hector Ruiz play in all this?  Rumors are swirling that he might head up the new manufacturing portion that remains.

There are other potential options. AMD could attempt to sell one or both of its fabs, although there’s speculation that this could run afoul of the company’s x86 licensing agreement with Intel, which is believed to specify that AMD must own the majority of its own fabrication space. Intel, on the other hand, might choose not to enforce such terms, particularly given the amount of antitrust scrutiny the company currently faces.

AMD might also attempt to sell its fabs to major backer. Middle East wealth fund Mubadala Development is a prime contender for such a move, seeing as that group already invested $622 million in AMD last year. AMD would then lease space from the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm. Alternatively, AMD could attempt to spin itself off into two businesses, one devoted to fabrication (AMD Foundry) and the other to design (AMD Design). Regardless, BusinessWeekbelieves a major announcement is in the cards, and while some of these ideas are a bit more out there than others, a major change may be what AMD needs in order to convince investors the company is going someplace other than down.