Intel Regains Full Control Of Fab 34 Ireland Factory In $14.2 Billion Chip Deal
Intel is making another major chip manufacturing investment, this time by buying back the 49% equity stake in its Fab 34 site in Ireland that it sold to Apollo in 2024. The $14.2 billion repurchase agreement will give Intel full control of the fab site once the deal is complete, and it comes at a time when AI is driving a big uptick in chip demand.
For Apollo, the deal represents a massive $3 billion return on its investment after having paid Intel $11.2 billion in June 2024 for its 49% stake in the site. This was also nearly a full year before Lip-Bu Tan took the reins as CEO of Intel in March 2025, replacing Pat Gelsinger following his abrupt exit.
"We thank Apollo for their ongoing partnership on our journey to build a world-class wafer fabrication and advanced packaging foundry anchored in trust, consistency, and execution," said David Zinsner, Intel CFO. "Our 2024 agreement was the right structure at the right time and provided Intel with meaningful flexibility, enabling us to accelerate critical initiatives."
Zinser went on to say that Intel is in a stronger place financially today, with a better balance sheet, improved financial discipline, and an evolved business strategy that makes this the right time to buy back full control of Fab 34.
To that end, Intel's most recent earnings beat estimates, with the chip maker generating $13.7 billion for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, bringing the fully year tally to $52.9 billion. The forecast for the current quarter was set at $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion.
The data center performed particularly well, growing 9% year-over-year to $4.7 billion for the quarter, while Intel Foundry generated $4.5 billion for a 4% YoY uptick.
"We delivered a solid finish to the year and made progress on our journey to build a new Intel. The introduction of our first products on Intel 18A – the most advanced process technology developed and manufactured in the United States – marks an important milestone, and we’re working aggressively to grow supply to meet strong customer demand," Tan said at the time.
Part of Intel's optimism is driven by growing demand for products and services in the data center to feed the AI beast. The Fab 34 location churns out chips based on Intel 4 and Intel 3 process nodes that underpin Core Ultra Meteor Lake and Xeon 6 Granite Rapids products, respectively.
Commenting on Intel's repurchase of its Fab 34 stake, Apollo Partner Jamshid Ehsani called it a "mutually beneficial transaction" and said the firm will "look forward to pursuing additional opportunities to work together over time."
