The Trump administration is talking about taking roughly a 10% stake in Intel. If it happens, that would make the government one of the biggest shareholders in the company.
A Bloomberg report quoted people familiar with the matter who said that the discussions are still going on and nothing is finalized yet.
The idea comes from the Chips and Science Act, which is supposed to boost chipmaking in the US and cut reliance on Asia.
Intel has already received about $10.9 billion under the law, most of it for commercial production, some for defense projects.
Now, officials are looking at whether some or all of that money could become a stake in the company instead of just being paid out in cash tied to milestones.
It’s not clear yet exactly how that would work or what it would mean for Intel day to day.
At Intel’s current market price, a 10% stake would run about $10.5 billion.
That’s roughly in line with the amount the company has already received under the Chips Act, which has led some to suggest there could be a direct swap of government funding for shares.
Officials, though, caution that nothing is final and the details of any plan are still very much up in the air.
Equity as industrial policy
If it goes through, the plan would be a major departure from Washington’s usual role as regulator and supporter of private business.
The government has long offered loans, tax credits, and grants to strategic industries, but taking direct ownership in a major corporation is extremely rare outside of wartime or emergency bailouts.
Last month, the Pentagon said it would take a $400 million preferred-equity stake in MP Materials, a rare-earth miner in California, to support critical supply chains.
That move made the Defense Department the company’s biggest shareholder and hinted that the administration is willing to use equity as a tool for industrial policy.
How investors reacted?
News that something similar might happen at Intel shook the markets.
After reports of the talks came out last week, Intel’s shares jumped 23%, their biggest rally since February as investors bet that government backing could stabilize the company’s finances and cement its role in US semiconductor strategy.
Intel stock fell 5% in Monday’s session, but it’s still well above where it was in early August.
For the administration, any move on Intel would carry both economic and geopolitical implications.
Semiconductor manufacturing has turned into a key front in the growing tech rivalry between the US and China, with Washington pushing to regain its lead in advanced chip technologies.
Intel, which used to dominate the global market, has fallen behind Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung. Federal officials say shoring up the company is critical for long-term national competitiveness.
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