[News] Intel Moves to Reclaim Ireland Fab From Apollo in $14.2B Buyback Amid CPU Demand Strength

Backed by support from the U.S. government and major chip players including NVIDIA, Intel is stepping up efforts to revive its manufacturing strategy amid resilient CPU demand. As it now positions its 18A node for potential external customers, the company is also reclaiming full ownership of its Ireland fab, unveiling a $14.2 billion plan to buy back the 49% stake previously sold to Apollo Global Management, according to a press release.

The buyback will be funded through a combination of existing cash and approximately $6.5 billion in newly issued debt, Intel states.

Reuters notes that Apollo originally acquired the stake for $11.2 billion in 2024 as part of a joint venture tied to the Leixlip facility near Dublin. According to OregonLive, the structure of that deal allowed the plant to supply finished chips back to Intel on a cost-plus basis.

Ireland Fab’s Strategic Importance

While not focused on Intel’s most advanced nodes, the Ireland-based Fab 34 remains a key production hub, turning out chips built on Intel 4 and Intel 3 processes, including Core Ultra processors for PCs and Xeon chips for servers, Reuters reports. The facility also holds strategic importance as Intel’s first high-volume site to deploy the Intel 4 node, utilizing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, as per Reuters.

As highlighted by CNBC, Intel said the repurchase agreement reflects the “growing strategic importance of CPUs in the age of AI.”

The move comes as AI-driven demand continues to strain supply chains across both memory and CPUs. According to Nikkei, CPU quote prices have already been revised several times this year, driving average increases of around 10%–15%, with some segments seeing even steeper gains. The report also says Intel and AMD have notified customers of further price hikes across their CPU lineups, set for March and April respectively.

Intel Rekindles Global Manufacturing Push

Meanwhile, Team Blue is pressing ahead with its global expansion plans, after having slowed the rollout over the past two years amid financial headwinds. As it ramps up 18A production at its Fab 52 site in Chandler, Arizona, NBC4i reports that Intel has completed major underground work for its two Ohio fabs and is no longer expecting further delays to the $20 billion project.

Construction has now shifted above ground, with work on buildings, infrastructure, and support towers actively progressing—marking a notable acceleration in 2025 compared with prior years, the report notes.

Looking ahead, Intel reiterates its timeline, targeting construction completion of Fab 1 in 2030 and Fab 2 in 2031, NBC4i reports. Fab 1 could begin operations as early as 2030, while Fab 2 is expected to come online in 2032, the report adds.

The company is also stepping up with its advanced packaging efforts. According to The Edge Malaysia, the chipmaker’s advanced packaging complex and assembly operations in Malaysia are slated to become operational later this year.

TechPowerUp preports that in late 2025, Intel has officially entered the final stage of its Project Pelican advanced packaging complex in Malaysia, with an additional $200 million investment to complete the site. Notably, the site will handle die sort and prep operations and support both EMIB and Foveros packaging flows, the report added. Accoding to ZDNet, Intel expects to begin securing customers for its EMIB packaging technology in the second half of this year.

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(Photo credit: Intel)