Trump says Intel has agreed to deal for US to take 10% equity stake

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States would take a 10 per cent stake in Intel under a deal with the struggling chipmaker and is planning more such moves, the latest extraordinary intervention by the White House in corporate America.

An official announcement on the arrangement is expected later in the day, a source familiar with the matter said. Trump is set to meet with CEO Lip-Bu Tan later on Friday, a White House official said.

The development follows a meeting between Tan and Trump earlier this month that was sparked by Trump’s demand for the Intel chief’s resignation over his ties to Chinese firms.

“He walked in wanting to keep his job and he ended up giving us US$10 billion for the United States. So we picked up US$10 billion,” Trump said on Friday.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on social media that the deal had been completed. “The United States of America now owns 10% of Intel,” he wrote, saying Tan had struck a deal “that’s fair to Intel and fair to the American People”.

While Trump did not provide detail on the US$10 billion, the equity stake is about equal to the amount Intel is set to receive in Chips Act grants from the government to help fund the building of chip plants in the US.