Intel to sell NAND business to SKorean rival for $9 billion

Intel has agreed to a $9 billion deal to sell most of its memory business to South Korea’s SK Hynix as it moves toward more diverse techlogies while shedding a major Chinese factory at a time of deepening tre friction between Washington and Beijing.

Intel said it will keep its “Optane” business of more vanced memory products, which analysts say are mostly produced in United States.

According to plan confirmed by companies on Tuesday, SK Hynix will acquire Intel’s NAND memory chip and stor business, including a related manufacturing site in rastern Chinese city of Dalian. SK Hynix said companies expect to get required governmental approvals for deal by late 2021.

transaction, if completed, could reportedly make SK Hynix world’s second-largest provider of NAND flash memory chips behind Samsung Electronics, ar South Korean chip giant.

Demand for flash memory has strengned in recent months due to buying of personal computers and servers as coronavirus pandemic forces millions to work from home.

Intel will keep its “Optane” business of more vanced memory products, which analysts say are mostly produced in United States. company said it plans to invest proceeds from transaction into vancing long-growth priorities, including techlogies related to artificial intelligence and fifth-generation wireless networks.

“This transaction will allow us to furr prioritize our investments in differentiated techlogy where we can play a bigger role in success of our customers and deliver attractive returns to our stockholders,” Bob Swan, Intel’s CEO, said in a statement.

(Im: AP)