Market value passes $104bn despite White House saying claims of talks to invest in factories are ‘speculation’
Shares in Intel have jumped 7.4% after it was reported that the Trump administration is considering taking a stake in the struggling US chipmaker.
The potential investment, which would be paid for by the US government, would be used to develop Intel’s factory hub in Ohio, according to Bloomberg. It would also help shore up the chipmaker’s finances at a time when Intel has been slashing jobs as part of a wider cost-cutting drive.
Talks over the potential investment stem from a meeting that took place between the US president, Donald Trump, and the Intel chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, this week, days after Trump called for Tan to resign, accusing him of having ties to the Chinese Communist party. Bloomberg suggested Tan was likely to stay in charge of the chipmaker.
Commenting on the Bloomberg report, the White House spokesperson Kush Desai said: “Discussion about hypothetical deals should be regarded as speculation unless officially announced by the administration.”
