The deal between SoftBank and Intel would involve the creation of roughly 87 million new shares, adding an incremental 2% to Intel’s overall share count. Reitzes believes the transaction will happen before the end of the year.

SoftBank is investing $2 billion in Intel, even as the White House is considering taking a 10% stake in chipmaker per reports, as talks with the company and Trump's team advance.

The U.S. chipmaker has struggled to keep pace in the AI market alongside competitors like Nvidia. Softbank has agreed to buy Intel common stock at $23 per share.