Feed: Slashdot
Feed Link: https://slashdot.org/
---

Title: Trump Confirms US Is Seeking 10% Stake In Intel

Link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/08/20/2051231/t...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: After the Trump
administration confirmed a rumor that the US is planning to buy a 10 percent
stake in Intel, US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came forward Wednesday to
voice support for the highly unusual plan, finding rare common ground with
Donald Trump. According to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the plan would
see the US disbursing approved CHIPS Act grants only after acquiring non-
voting shares of Intel and likely other chipmakers. That would allow the US
to profit off its investment in chipmakers, Lutnick suggested, and Sanders
told Reuters that he agreed American taxpayers could benefit from the
potential deals. "If microchip companies make a profit from the generous
grants they receive from the federal government, the taxpayers of America
have a right to a reasonable return on that investment," Sanders said. While
Lutnick gave Trump credit for coming up with what White House Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt described as a "creative idea that has never been done
before" to protect US national and economic security, it appears that Lutnick
is driving the initiative. "Lutnick has been pushing the equity idea,"
insiders granted anonymity previously told Reuters, "adding that Trump likes
the idea." So far, Intel has engaged in talks, while the Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and other major CHIPS grant recipients like
Samsung and Micron have yet to comment on the potential arrangement the Trump
administration seems likely to pursue. They may possibly risk clawbacks of
grants if such deals aren't made. On Wednesday, Taiwan Economy Minister Kuo
Jyh-huei said his ministry would be consulting with TSMC soon, while noting
that as yet, it's hard to "thoroughly understand the underlying meaning" of
Lutnick's public comments. So far, Lutnick has only specified that "any
potential arrangement wouldn't provide the government with voting or
governance rights in Intel," dispelling fears that the US would use its
ownership stake to try to control the world's most important chipmakers.
Further reading: Intel is Getting a $2 Billion Investment From SoftBank

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

---
VRSS v2.1.180528