Indeed. A friend of a friend of a friend was in the room when the decision was made. The reason for not buying: Huang won't be a team player and is hard to work with.
So yes, they would have tried to integrate it into the rest of Intel.
Just look at what happened to Altera under Intel. Preacquisition it was similar in size to Xilinx. Now it's just a shadow of its former self, latest few quarters shows it in the red. The person they have in charge of it. Sandra Rivera was formerly the head of HR.
From 2019 to 2021, Rivera was Intel’s chief people officer, leading the company’s Human Resources organization worldwide.
I heard a rumor that Jensen wouldn't agree to the acquisition unless he became CEO of the combined entity.
So yes, they would have tried to integrate it into the rest of Intel.