Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. government will buy a nearly 10% share in Intel Corp. He called the deal a method to help the struggling chipmaker and make sure that American taxpayers get a refund. After weeks of talks, the deal was reached. It will turn some of the grants promised to Intel under the CHIPS and Science Act into shares that don’t have voting rights.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he had brought up the proposal to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan earlier this month. He said, “I think the United States should get 10% of Intel,” and Tan answered, “I would consider that.” Tan, who the President had criticized just weeks before, was at the White House on Friday to sign the deal.
The agreement is worth around $8.9 billion, and the U.S. government gets 9.9% of the company’s common stock. The shares are offered at a discount of roughly $20.47 per, which is far lower than Intel’s closing price of $24.80 on Friday. This is a shocking and very unprecedented level of government interference in a private American business, breaking long-standing rules.
The action fits with the new kind of economic statecraft that President Trump has adopted in his second term. This program is meant to directly help the U.S. by getting government money for important industries. It follows activities that are comparable, like:
“Golden Share” in U.S. Steel: As part of its purchase of U.S. Steel, the Trump administration got a “Golden Share” from the Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. This stake gives the president the power to stop a number of business choices, such as moving workers and headquarters.
AI Chip Revenue Share: The government made an agreement with Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. that lets companies sell advanced AI chips to China. In return, the U.S. government gets 15% of the money made from those sales.
The administration says that the U.S. government’s new interest in Intel is a strategic bet on the company’s future and a method to keep America in charge of the important semiconductor industry. Intel’s stock rose as high as 6.6% on Friday, showing that the market liked the deal. Investors and officials have voiced worries about the consequences of such government intervention.