Intel has agreed to spend $14.2 billion to buy back the 49% interest it previously sold to Apollo Global Management in its Leixlip, Ireland semiconductor manufacturing site, bringing Fab 34 back under sole Intel ownership.
The stake had been sold in 2024 when Apollo paid $11.2 billion for its share in the joint venture tied to the plant. At the time, the transaction provided Intel with a cash infusion to support an expansion of its manufacturing footprint in Europe and the United States. The company has since undergone leadership and strategic changes aimed at repairing its financial position.
Intel’s current chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, has implemented an aggressive restructuring program - including job reductions and asset sales - intended to improve operational and financial performance. The company has also received substantial outside capital through investments from Nvidia and from the U.S. government, which is described in the announcement as its largest shareholder.
In the statement announcing the buyback, Intel cited improving financial metrics and a revival in demand for its central processors in data-center environments. The company linked growing need for chips to AI-related workloads, specifically inference - the step in which AI systems generate responses to user inputs. Intel Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said, "Today, we have a stronger balance sheet, improved financial discipline and an evolved business strategy."
Intel plans to fund the repurchase with existing cash balances and approximately $6.5 billion in new debt. The company said it expects the transaction to be accretive to profit and to enhance its credit profile beginning in 2027.
The Leixlip facility, known as Fab 34, manufactures devices using Intel 4 and Intel 3 process technologies. Product families produced at the plant include Intel's Core Ultra and Xeon 6 processors.
This transaction returns full operational control of an active European fabrication site to Intel at a time it reports stabilizing finances and increasing demand for data-center processors driven by AI inference workloads. The financing mix - a combination of cash and new borrowing - is framed by the company as a near-term capital allocation to support long-term profit and credit improvement targets.