Deal worth $14.2bn to be financed by combination of cash and debt
Trade
David Zinsner, Intel
Intel Corporation has reached an agreement with Apollo to repurchase the 49% equity interest in the joint venture related to Intel’s Fab 34 in Leixlip not held by Intel for $14.2 billion. The agreement reflects Intel’s continued business momentum underpinned by the growing and essential role CPUs play in the era of AI, a significantly strengthened balance sheet and the strong partnership between Intel and Apollo.
In 2024, Apollo-managed funds and affiliates led an $11.2 billion investment to acquire a 49% equity interest in a joint venture entity related to Fab 34, providing Intel with equity-like capital while preserving balance sheet strength. This transaction provided Intel with significant financial flexibility and enabled the company to unlock and redeploy capital to advance its strategic priorities including accelerating the buildout of Intel 4 and Intel 3, the most advanced processes manufactured in Europe, and of Intel 18A, the most advanced process developed and manufactured in the US today.
“We thank Apollo for their ongoing partnership on our journey to build a world-class wafer fabrication and advanced packaging foundry anchored in trust, consistency, and execution,” said David Zinsner, Intel CFO (pictured). “Our 2024 agreement was the right structure at the right time and provided Intel with meaningful flexibility, enabling us to accelerate critical initiatives. Today, we have a stronger balance sheet, improved financial discipline and an evolved business strategy. We appreciate Apollo’s continued collaboration to reach this outcome as we realign our capital structure with our long-term strategy.”
“Our partnership with Intel began at an important stage in the execution of its advanced manufacturing roadmap, where our long-term strategic capital played a meaningful role in accelerating the production of next-generation chip technology,” said Apollo partner Jamshid Ehsani. “Flexibility and alignment are core to how we approach relationships as a long-term, solutions-oriented capital partner, and we are pleased to facilitate this transaction in support of Intel’s evolving strategic and operational priorities. This mutually beneficial transaction is a testament to how we operate: client-driven and focused on long-term partnership. We’re proud to support Intel’s evolving strategic and operational priorities and look forward to pursuing additional opportunities to work together over time.”
The repurchase of the 49% JV stake is expected to be funded through cash on hand and proceeds from the issuance of new debt of approximately $6.5 billion. The transaction is expected to be accretive to ongoing EPS while strengthening Intel’s credit profile in 2027 and beyond.
Fab 34 is a high-volume semiconductor fabrication facility for products using the Intel 4 and Intel 3 process technologies, including Intel Core Ultra and Intel Xeon 6 processors. Intel continues to make significant capital investments in its Ireland campus to expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen execution, and deliver for customers building next-generation AI-enabled systems.
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