Chipmaker Wolfspeed secures $1.25 billion in debt funding led by Apollo Global

(Reuters) – Wolfspeed said on Monday that a group led by Apollo Global Management would make a debt investment of $1.25 billion in the chipmaker, with room for an additional $750 million, to support its U.S. expansion.

Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe said the financing would help “scale up near-term operations at our Mohawk Valley Fab and construction of our Siler City materials facility to help us capture the growing silicon carbide market opportunity.”

The company in September last year had announced a multi-billion-dollar investment in a factory in Chatham County, North Carolina to make raw materials for chips that power electric vehicles, among other things.

The 9.875% notes will mature in 2030. The company has the option to pay the debt early, Wolfspeed said.

(This story has been refiled to add dropped word in the headline)

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)

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