CHIPS Act Funding Agreements

3 Months Ended

Nov. 28, 2024

Subsequent Events [Abstract]

CHIPS Act Funding Agreements

CHIPS Act Funding Agreements

On December 9, 2024, we entered into direct funding agreements with the U.S. Department of Commerce for up to $6.1 billion in direct funding pursuant to the CHIPS Act for a planned fab in Boise, Idaho and two planned fabs in Clay, New York. On December 9, 2024, we also signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms for up to $275 million in direct funding for our fab in Manassas, Virginia.

Funding will be based on the achievement of construction, tool installation, and wafer production milestones. We retain discretion with respect to capacity and production volume ramp of each project. The agreements contain representations, warranties, and covenants that relate to compliance with requirements for awards provided for in the CHIPS Act. In addition, the agreements include certain events of default and related rights and remedies, including clawbacks related to the failure to complete a project by an agreed upon completion date, violation of CHIPS Act restrictions on certain activities involving foreign countries and entities of concern, and impermissible use or disposition of a project.

We are permitted to make customary and ordinary course recurring dividends (and reasonable ordinary course increases thereof) consistent with our past practice. There are restrictions on our payment of special and one-time dividends during the five-year period following the award date of December 9, 2024. Share repurchases are permitted during the first two years of such five-year period up to amounts specified in the funding agreements to help offset the dilutive effects of employee stock compensation or as otherwise permitted by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Share repurchases are not restricted during the final three years of such five-year period if certain financial and other conditions are satisfied.

We may be required to pay upside sharing amounts for a period of up to ten years following the first year in which the cumulative cash flow from a project is positive, if cumulative cash flows from the project exceed a threshold level that is at a significant premium to the baseline projection. The upside sharing amount would equal a modest sharing percentage of the excess cash flows above the threshold level, but not to exceed 75% of award disbursements for a project, after considering any clawbacks or other repayments.