Intel has announced the selling of its NAND and SSD business to Seoul-based SK hynix in a deal worth an initial $7 billion.
The deal will include the transfer of certain NAND SSD-associated intellectual properties (IP) and employees and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China to SK hynix.
SK hynix Inc., is the world’s top-tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), Flash memory chips (“NAND Flash”), and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally.
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As part of the deal. Intel will continue to manufacture NAND wafers at SK hynix’s Dalian memory manufacturing facility and retain certain IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers until the final closing of the transaction.
The final closing is expected to occur in or after March 2025, when SK hynix will acquire from Intel the remaining NAND business assets, including certain IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers, R&D employees, and the Dalian fab workforce, for US$2 billion.
The SSD business will transition to a newly formed company, Solidigm, a subsidiary of SK hynix. Solidigm, whose name reflects a new paradigm in solid-state storage, will name Robert (Rob) B. Crooke as CEO. Crooke was previously senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. Solidigm will have its headquarters in San Jose, California.
Commenting on the deal, Park Jung-ho, vice chairman and co-CEO of SK hynix said: “My heartfelt welcome to the Solidigm team members who are joining our family. This acquisition will present a paradigm shifting moment for SK Hynix’s NAND flash business to enter the global top tier level. With this acquisition, SK Hynix will be one step further in its path towards global 1st tier technology company.”
Crooke said the deal will help in the company’s quest to lead the data and storage industry.
“Solidigm is poised to be the world’s next big semiconductor company, which presents an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent the data memory and storage industry. We are steadfast in our commitment to lead the data industry in a way that can truly fuel human advancement,” he said.
Lately, Intel has been struggling to keep up with the intensity of the chip market, losing its place to rivals such as Nvidia. Its ordeal was compounded after Apple, who has been a high-profile buyer of Intel chips, created its own.
Though the company has undergone drastic changes aimed at revamping its business, it is yet to bounce back. Intel intends to invest transaction proceeds to deliver leadership products and advance its long-term growth priorities.