AMD and ATI to pitch merger to shareholders on Monday?

The little rumor that just wouldn't die is finally getting quite a bit of cred behind it. The Inquirer -- the folks who put the kibosh on that first round of whispers -- is now reporting that AMD and ATI are planning on pitching a merger to their shareholders on Monday. Apparently AMD doesn't quite have the cash to buy ATI straight up, but a merger, if approved by the shareholders and regulatory bodies, includes all the strategic wins for both companies, such as partnering on integrated graphics and AMD access to ATI's handheld division. This would also presumably end the longstanding AMD/Nvidia partnership on chipsets, and throw a whole wrench into the GPU wars, so we're feeling good about this merger merely from an industry drama standpoint.

[Thanks, Peter K.]