SK Hynix May Acquire Intel Nand Memory Division – Computer – News

SK Hynix has received approval from the Chinese market regulator to acquire Intel’s NAND and SSD business. As a result, the company has obtained all necessary approvals from relevant competition authorities.

SK Hynix reports on his website that the State Administration for Market Regulation in China recently approved the acquisition. This removes the last obstacle to the takeover, also writes Bloomberg. Earlier this year, the company already received the green light from authorities in South Korea, from United States, Taiwan, Brazil, the United Kingdom in Singapore. Also the European Commission gave permission earlier this year before the takeover. The company previously indicated that it expected to have all the necessary commitments to complete the acquisition by the end of 2021.

The Chinese Competition Authority sets some conditions to the takeover. For example, SK Hynix is ​​not allowed to charge unreasonable prices for PCIe and SATA enterprise SSDs in the Chinese market. SK Hynix is ​​also expected to continue expanding its PCIe and SATA SSD production in the five years after the acquisition is officially completed. In addition, SK Hynix must continue to supply all products to China and must not force Chinese customers to purchase products exclusively from the company. The company is also prohibited from entering into deals with competitors in China that would exclude or restrict competition.

The acquisition by SK Hynix is ​​worth $9 billion. It is the largest acquisition the memory manufacturer has made to date. The company will pay the first $7 billion by the end of this year, giving it Intel’s SSD division and China’s Dalian nand memory manufacturing facility. The remaining $2 billion will follow in 2025, for intellectual property related to the production and design of nandflash wafers and for the transfer of personnel. The acquisition will make SK Hynix the second largest producer of nand memory. Samsung, also a South Korean company, remains the largest nand memory manufacturer.

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