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Intel enlists private equity to help pay for fabs

Paul van Gerven
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Canadian investment management company Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to fund almost half of the expansion of Intel’s Arizona fab complex, estimated to cost 30 billion dollars. “Semiconductor manufacturing is among the most capital-intensive industries in the world, and Intel’s bold IDM 2.0 strategy demands a unique funding approach. Our agreement with Brookfield is a first for our industry, and we expect it will allow us to increase flexibility while maintaining capacity on our balance sheet,” commented Intel CFO David Zinsner.

Under the terms of the agreement, Brookfield will invest up 15 billion dollars in exchange for a 49 percent stake in the project, while Intel will retain majority ownership and operating control of the two new leading-edge chip factories on the Chandler campus. In addition to the Arizona expansion project, Intel has announced green-field construction of fabs in Ohio and Magdeburg, Germany.

It’s not clear how Brookfield will make money. Zinsner said the deal is similarly structured to “infrastructure-like investments.”

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