U.S. seeks equity stake in Intel in return for funding

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that chipmaker Intel should give the government an equity stake in the company in exchange for grants earlier committed by former president Joe Biden’s administration.

“We should get an equity stake for our money,” Mr. Lutnick told CNBC in an interview. “So we’ll deliver the money which was already committed under the Biden administration. We’ll get equity in return for it.”

Mr. Lutnick’s comments came on the back of a news report that the U.S. government was considering taking a 10-percent stake in Intel.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Tuesday that Lutnick and the Commerce Department were working on the matter.

“I know Secretary Lutnick is working on it and ironing out the details,” she told reporters, calling such a deal a “creative idea.”

Intel shares were up 7.2 percent on Tuesday afternoon.

This week, Japan-based tech investor SoftBank Group also said it would invest $2 billion in Intel.

But Mr. Lutnick told CNBC that any potential arrangement would not give the administration governing or voting rights in Intel.

He criticised grants committed under the CHIPS and Science Act, a major law passed during Mr. Biden’s term, as funding that was going to be simply given away.

The law was aimed at strengthening the U.S. semiconductor industry, and the Biden administration had unveiled billions in grants through it.

Asked about the status of recent U.S. tariff deals with Japan and South Korea, which were to come with investment commitments as well, Mr. Lutnick said Tuesday that the public was “weeks away” from getting more details on the pacts.