Asset manager Apollo has reportedly offered to invest up to $5 billion in Intel, as rival chipmaker Qualcomm also eyes a takeover of the struggling semiconductor giant.

Bidders are apparently circling Intel following the company’s disastrous second-quarter financial results. In August it announced it had lost $1.6 billion in the preceding three months, and said that as a result it would be making 15,000 layoffs across the company as part of a plan to save $10 billion.

Last week it announced it was pausing development of two chip fabs, in Germany and Poland, and said it would spin off its processor manufacturing, Intel Foundry, into a separate business unit.

Apollo could make “equity-like” Intel investment

Intel’s problems are said to have alerted Apollo, which has offered to make a multi-billion dollar investment in the company, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Citing people familiar with discussions between the two companies, Bloomberg’s report said Apollo made its offer late last week and that the fund could make an “equity-like investment” of up to $5 billion in Intel.

Nothing is finalized, and the deal may not go ahead, the report said. Intel and Apollo both declined to comment when approached by Bloomberg.

The two companies already have a working relationship, with Apollo having paid $11 billion for a 49 percent stake in a Joint Venture set up to finance the construction of Intel’s Fab 34 chip factory in Ireland.

Could Qualcomm swoop for Intel?

Meanwhile it emerged on Friday that Qualcomm has approached Intel about a possible takeover.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is leading negotiations according to Reuters, and though a formal bid has yet to be made, the San Diego-based company could make an offer for all or part of Intel’s business. News of the discussions was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Reuters had previously reported that Qualcomm was interested in Intel’s design businesses, but it could now pursue a deal for the entire company.

A fabless chip company specializing in the mobile space, an acquisition of Intel could give Qualcomm its own manufacturing capabilities and a route into markets such as data center chips. Currently, Qualcomm devices are predominantly manufactured by Taiwan's TSMC.

Intel also holds many big US government contracts, and last week said it had signed a $3 billion to build chips for the Department of Defense.

However, any agreement between the companies would likely raise antitrust concerns among regulators in the US and abroad.

A proposed takeover of Arm by Nvidia, which would've seen two of the biggest players in the chip industry join forces, fell through in 2022 amid widespread regulatory opposition.