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$12.9b and counting: Trump administration snaps up stakes in private firms
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The unusual government intervention into the private market is fuelling some concerns, including the opacity of the process.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ana Swanson
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WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is snapping up ownership shares of private companies it deems essential to national security. It is an unusual new strategy that has already committed more than US$10 billion (S$12.9 billion) in taxpayer funds and shows little sign of slowing.
The government’s growing portfolio of corporate ownership involves minority stakes, or the option to take them in the future, in at least nine companies involved in steel, minerals, nuclear energy and semiconductors, a New York Times analysis found. The deals were all struck in the past six months, with the bulk made in October and November.
