In a nutshell: It seems that beleaguered Intel has finally received some good news. According to reports, US asset management company Apollo Global Management has offered to invest up to $5 billion into Team Blue, which was recently rumored to be an acquisition target for Qualcomm.
Apollo has indicated in recent days that it would be willing to make an equity-like investment of up to $5 billion in Intel, reports Bloomberg, citing one of the people familiar with the matter.
Intel's executives are said to be weighing the proposal, adding that talks regarding the deal are in the early stages and may not lead anywhere. The size of Apollo's investment could change, too.
Increasing the likelihood of Apollo's investment is its previous relationship with Intel. The firm said earlier this year that it would acquire a 49% equity interest in a joint venture that controls Intel's new manufacturing plant in Ireland for $11 billion.
The news comes at a tumultuous time for Intel. Once the world's most valuable chip manufacturer, its market cap has crashed from $290 billion in 2020 to $93.19 billion today, while the share price has lost 50% of its value this year alone.
Intel has implemented a cost-reduction plan that will see more than 15% of its employees laid off before the end of the year, while operational expenses are being cut by more than $10 billion. It is also splitting its struggling foundry division into an independent subsidiary.
Last weekend saw reports that rival tech giant Qualcomm had made a takeover offer for Intel, with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon personally involved in the negotiations. Such a deal could represent the largest tech acquisition ever, though it would undoubtedly face the scrutiny of antitrust regulators.
Intel's shares have recovered slightly this month, rising from $18.89 on September 6 to $21.84 today. Reports of the potential investment pushed the price up 2%, while CEO Pat Gelsinger's announcement of a deal with Amazon Web Services to co-invest in a custom AI semiconductor also boosted the shares.
Intel explores $5 billion investment offer from Apollo amid market decline
