Intel completed the first closing of the sale of its NAND and SSD business, selling its SSD business (including the transfer of certain NAND SSD-associated intellectual properties (IP) and employees) and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China to Seoul-based SK hynix. In exchange, SK hynix will pay Intel US$7 billion in consideration.
The deal was first announced October 19, 2020.
Intel said it plans to 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, which is expected in 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 called Solidigm, a subsidiary of SK hynix. The company will be based in San Jose, California. It will be headed by Rob Crooke as CEO. Crooke was previously senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. Lee Seok-hee, president and co-CEO of SK hynix, will be appointed executive chairman of Solidigm and will lead the post-merger integration processes after the first closing.
Solidigm said its name reflects a new paradigm in solid-state storage.
