It looks like Intel is looking to increase their custom foundry capacity through acquisition to compliment their current organic fab build-out efforts. Interestingly, the numerous mentions of Tower's deep customer relationships makes me wonder if they were also working to beef up the customer service aspect of the custom foundry side as well (I have heard some talk that Intel has a relative paucity of experience working as a fab for external customers, but I have no evidence one way or another).
From the press release: https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1527/intel-to-acquire-tower-semiconductor-for-5-4-billion
SANTA CLARA, Calif. & MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC) and Tower Semiconductor (Nasdaq: TSEM), a leading foundry for analog semiconductor solutions, today announced a definitive agreement under which Intel will acquire Tower for $53 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $5.4 billion. The acquisition significantly advances Intel’s IDM 2.0 strategy as the company further expands its manufacturing capacity, global footprint and technology portfolio to address unprecedented industry demand.
Disclosure: INTC shareholder
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