The US government plans to acquire a 10% stake in Intel

The US government is planning to acquire a 10% stake in Intel, President Donald Trump told reporters Friday. Bloomberg first reported the news, pushing stocks in Semiconductor Chip Company up more than 7%. Trump said Inter agreed to the proposal.

Inter declined to comment.

This news comes during a pivotal and recent uncertain time for Intel. CEO Lip-Bu Tan is currently restructuring chipmakers, closing certain divisions, focusing on core businesses and firing workers to keep up with rivals like Nvidia.

Earlier this month, Trump forced him to resign from his tan due to a perceived conflict of interest. Tan later met with Trump to find a way to soften the president and find ways to work together with the company and the government.

While speaking to the White House press pool, Trump admitted his push to resign.

“If he was right to step down, he came in and I often said he’d seen us talking for a while. I really liked him,” Trump said. “I thought he was very good. He was a somewhat victim, but you thought no one knew what I was guessing, and I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I wanted to do it.

Trump continued. “I think it’s good to have the US as your partner. He agreed. And they agreed. I think it’s a lot for them, and I think it’s a lot for them.”

Such federal ownership of such large companies would represent a dramatic departure from years of US policy. Private government equity interests are extremely rare and highly controversial in the US. This occurred during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, when the government acquired temporary ownership in companies such as General Motors, AIG and several major banks.

The government systematically sold these shares to private investors over the next few years.

The Intel deal is expected to be announced later Friday, coming days after Japanese conglomerate SoftBank agreed to invest $2 billion in Intel. The agreement was couched under that agreement as a commitment to advanced technology and semiconductors in the United States, and SoftBank agreed to purchase Intel common stock for $23 per share. Intel shares were trading around $25 on Friday afternoon.

TechCrunch reached the White House for comment.

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