Ski Hynix has been in talks with Intel for some time to buy NAND-based SSD businesses and own the IPs associated with it. However, there were some legal obstacles in China that delayed the process of purchasing these parts. Last week, Ski Hynix announced that legal barriers in China had been partially removed and that it could subsequently complete its acquisition of Intel’s high-speed memory segment.
It now appears that the first part of the sale process has been finalized, and from now on, Ski Hynix will own part of it. The Korean semiconductor industry giant has announced that it has launched a new subsidiary called Solidigm for factory startup and SSD business management. Rob Croc, A veteran and former CEO of Intel Solutions Group, he will take over the CEO position at the company based in San Jose. Crook says about this:
Solidime is poised to be the next largest semiconductor company in the world, offering an unprecedented opportunity to recreate the data and storage industry. We stand by our commitment to leading the data industry; In a way that can really help human development.
The name Solidarity is said to reflect a new pattern in solid state storage. The company will be headquartered in San Jose, California Lee Suk Hey, Chairman and CEO of Ski Hynix, will serve as CEO of the company.
The terms of the sale deal include the NAND-based SSD business and related manufacturing fabs, all of which are priced at a total of $ 9 billion, and the sale takes place in two stages. The first phase of the sale, which was completed today, includes the transfer of Fab technology and the construction of Intel Dalian memory in China, as well as certain staff and special IPs for NAND SSDs.
It is interesting to note that Dalian is Intel’s first site to build advanced memory, and selling it may seem a bit unreasonable; Because memory is part of the technology foundation that shapes the smart, connected world. However, the deal allows Intel to focus more on other businesses by moving away from low-cost, cost-effective flash drives that are prone to sharp price fluctuations.
The blue team will reportedly retain its proprietary 3D XPoint technology. It should be noted, however, that Intel’s manufacturing partner, Micron, recently sold its Fab and stopped producing 3D XPoint; Therefore, the future of this technology is in a haze. Intel also plans to make Mobileye, a company focused on car technology, publicly available through an IPO next year.
In general, the final sales phase will last until March 2025. In the meantime, Intel will continue to produce NAND wafers at the Dalian facility, and will retain some of its IP design and production of NAND wafers; But when that time is up, Intel will outsource its remaining R&D staff and the latest IP NAND design and production to Ski Hynix. At this point, Intel will also stop production of NAND at the Dalian plant.
At present, all of Intel’s existing SSD storage products are now manufactured and sold under the Solidime flag; But it seems that solidam will initially be subject to some of the long-term limitations of Chinese regulators. For example, the company will be required to comply with pricing restrictions for finished products and components for five years and to ensure supply expansion for enterprise-class PCIe and SATA components.
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