Intel shares rose about 6% Friday after Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is preparing to announce that the U.S. government will acquire an equity stake in the chipmaker.
Speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump said the government should take about 10% of the company, which has a market value of just over $100 billion. “They’ve agreed to do it and I think it’s a great deal for them,” Trump told reporters.
A White House official told CNBC that “ongoing discussions” are taking place with Intel, noting that no agreement has been finalized and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has not explicitly committed. Trump and Tan are expected to meet later Friday. Intel declined to comment.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC earlier this week that the U.S. should secure an equity stake in exchange for CHIPS Act funds. “We should get an equity stake for our money,” Lutnick said on “Squawk on the Street.” He added the stake would be “nonvoting.”
The announcement follows SoftBank’s $2 billion investment in Intel, equal to about 2% of the company. Intel, the only U.S. firm capable of manufacturing the most advanced chips domestically, is investing billions in new facilities, including a factory complex in Ohio now slated to begin operations in 2030.Intel has already received nearly $8 billion in CHIPS and Science Act funding to support factory expansion. The act, passed in 2022, provides incentives for U.S. semiconductor production.
