[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] SK Hynix has completed the first phase of acquiring Intel's NAND flash business unit in the United States and has finalized the name of the newly established U.S. subsidiary that will operate Intel's SSD business as "Solidigm."
On the 30th, SK Hynix announced that it has completed the necessary procedures to acquire the assets owned by Intel. With the completion of the first phase, the assets SK Hynix will take over include the solid-state drive (SSD) business and the fab in Dalian, China. SK Hynix will pay Intel $7 billion as the first installment out of the total contract amount of $9 billion (approximately 10.7 trillion KRW).
SK Hynix will pay the remaining $2 billion as the second installment around March 2025 and will receive related tangible and intangible assets, including NAND wafer research and development (R&D) and personnel operating the Dalian fab. The acquisition contract will be finalized at this point.
SK Hynix has named the newly established U.S. subsidiary that will operate Intel's SSD business "Solidigm." Solidigm is headquartered in San Jose, California, and will take over the SSD business previously operated by Intel, overseeing product development, production, and sales. SK Hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee will concurrently serve as chairman of this company, leading the post-acquisition integration process, while Rob Crooke, Intel’s vice president, will serve as CEO.
SK Hynix stated that this acquisition is seen as an opportunity to enhance its NAND competitiveness, which has lagged behind DRAM until now. SK Hynix has strengths in mobile products within the NAND business sector, while Solidigm holds industry-leading competitiveness in enterprise SSDs, allowing both to grow their strengths without business overlap, according to SK Hynix.
SK Hynix Vice Chairman and CEO Park Jung-ho said, "We welcome all members of Solidigm, who have become new family members of SK Hynix," adding, "This acquisition will be a turning point for SK Hynix’s NAND business to leap to a global top level, and through this, the company will establish itself as a truly world-class technology enterprise."
Rob Crooke, the new CEO of Solidigm, said, "Solidigm, a newly launched global semiconductor company, has the opportunity to lead innovation in the memory field," and added, "We will do our best to ensure that the data industry contributes to the advancement of humanity."
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