Alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management Inc has offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Intel Corp, Bloomberg reported on Monday, quoting people familiar with the matter said.

The investment could provide the chipmaker with a vote of confidence in its turnaround strategy and an alternative to a potential takeover by larger rival Qualcomm Inc, the report said.

The firm has indicated in recent days that it would be willing to make an equity-like investment in Intel of as much as $5 billion, one of the people said.

The development has come after San Diego-based Qualcomm floated a friendly takeover of Intel, which has been working to reinvent itself amid the most difficult period in its 56-year history.

Qualcomm’s move has raised the prospect of one of the biggest-ever M&A deals, as well as other bidders entering the fray. Broadcom Inc, at least for now, is on the sidelines, the report added.

Intel executives have been weighing Apollo’s proposal, according to the people, the report added.

The size of Apollo’s potential investment could change or discussions could fall apart, they said. Representatives for Apollo and Santa Clara, California-based Intel declined to comment, according to Bloomberg‘s report.

While Apollo may be best known today for its insurance, buyout and credit strategies, it started out in the 1990s as a distressed-investing specialist.

The firm also has an existing relationship with Intel, which in June agreed to sell to Apollo a stake in a joint venture that controls a chip plant in Ireland for $11 billion, bringing in more external funding for a massive expansion of its factory network, according to Bloomberg.

Under chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger, Intel has been working on an expensive plan to remake itself and bring in new products, technology and outside customers. However, the company is headed for its third consecutive year of shrinking sales and its shares have lost more than 50 percent of their value this year.

According to the report, Apollo has other experience in the chipmaking space.

Last year, the New York-based firm agreed to lead a US$900 million investment in Western Digital Corp, buying convertible preferred stock.

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