Intel will pay over $14 billion to regain full control of its Fab 34 semiconductor facility in Ireland from Apollo Global Management, reversing a 2022 stake sale made to stabilize its finances. The buyback follows Intel’s recent agreement with the US government last August, in which the federal stake amounted to 10 percent of the company, part of a broader effort to strengthen its position in advanced chip manufacturing.
According to the Financial Times, Intel’s renewed ownership comes after the company secured multibillion-dollar investments from SoftBank and Nvidia, significantly improving its financial standing. Intel Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner described the move as providing “meaningful flexibility,” noting that the company now benefits from a stronger balance sheet, tighter financial discipline, and an evolved business strategy. Shares in Intel surged 8 percent in early trading following the announcement.
The original sale to Apollo had taken place amid a period of financial and technical challenges that cast uncertainty over the future of the last remaining US manufacturer of cutting-edge chips. Since the US government took a stake, Intel’s stock has roughly doubled, and its prospects have been further bolstered by surging demand for its central processing units in AI workloads, an area once dominated by Nvidia’s graphics processing units.
For Apollo, the deal marks a significant return on what is described as the largest financing transaction in the investment group’s history, generating low- to mid-teens returns. The Financial Times reported that Apollo has increasingly focused on providing complex financing solutions to large corporations, often leveraging its wholly owned insurer, Athene, to support joint ventures like the Intel Fab 34 facility while keeping projects off client balance sheets.
Apollo partner Jamshid Ehsani emphasized the strategic importance of the deal, stating that their long-term capital had accelerated Intel’s production of next-generation chip technology at a critical point in the company’s advanced manufacturing roadmap. Intel plans to raise more than $6 billion in new debt to fund the buyback, underscoring the company’s commitment to reclaiming control of key manufacturing assets while pursuing its next phase of global semiconductor growth.
