Shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) rose in early trading on Thursday, building on gains from the previous session after media reports suggested the chipmaker had approached Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) about a possible investment.
Intel shares surged 6.4% to close at $31.22 on Wednesday following the Bloomberg News report.
According to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, the two companies have also discussed the possibility of closer collaboration.
If the deal goes through, an Apple investment would follow recent capital injections from other tech giants into Intel. Last week, Nvidia announced a $5 billion investment, planning to work with Intel on chips for personal computers and data centers. Intel has reportedly reached out to additional firms about potential investments and strategic partnerships.
An agreement with Apple could further bolster Intel’s turnaround efforts, which have even seen the White House engineer a deal for the U.S. government to take a 10% stake in the company.
However, reports suggest Apple is unlikely to return to Intel processors in its devices after switching to in-house chips over the past five years. Apple’s most advanced chips are now manufactured by Intel rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (NYSE:TSM).
“Is [the Apple investment in Intel] plausible? Sure, why not,” analysts at Bernstein said in a note on Thursday.
“At this point the company has secured close to $16 billion from prior (albeit dilutive) cash injections in recent weeks, and the idea that the company continues to seek further investors as a vote of confidence as well as the possibility that the [Trump] Administration is encouraging such has been widely speculated among investors.”
Taiwan Semiconductor stock price
Taiwan Semiconductor stock price
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