In 2024, Intel, then financially in the red, sold 49% of its Irish factory in Leixlip to the Apollo fund, in order to recover $11.2 billion in the process. Less than two years later, the American will buy back this half of the factory for… $14.2 billion. Everything therefore happens as if Apollo had granted Intel a loan at the exorbitant annual rate of 13%: we understand that the fund emphasizes being ” happy to have facilitated this transaction ».
For its part, Intel will have to subscribe to $6.5 billion in additional debt as part of this transaction. But unlike 2024, the manufacturer will certainly find banks to support it, for multiple reasons.
Firstly, the drop in American interest rates, which have fallen by almost two points in two years, significantly reduces the weight of Intel’s debt. Then, the American managed to attract significant investors, starting with Nvidia and the American government (which is today the largest shareholder). Finally, the craze for AI has taken on new proportions since 2024, boosting sales of Xeon processors (much more profitable than Intel’s consumer processors) and reassuring the financial markets. Since its production lines promise to run at full speed, it therefore becomes consistent for Intel to own them 100% to reap all the benefits.
