Intel closes the deal with Hynix and sells its memory division for 9 billion dollars

In October 2020, Intel announced that it was in negotiations with SK Hynix to sell its memory and NAND flash storage business, and now, more than a year later, the first phase of the deal for which Intel will receive the incredible sum has just been completed. Total of 9 billion dollars.

At that time, Intel agreed to hand over its NAND flash memory business, NAND wafer and component business, and its NAND memory manufacturing facility in Dalian, China. In return, the company will receive an initial payment of $ 7 billion that will allow the change of ownership transition to begin. Notably, Intel will retain specific intellectual property related to the design and manufacture of NAND wafers for the duration of this transition. In addition, it will continue to use the Dalian facilities until this process is complete.

Once this transition is completed, it is not until 2025 that SK Hynix will take ownership of all remaining Intel assets, including the employees in charge of NAND memory Research and Development, and will have to pay the remaining $ 2 billion. These assets will then be transferred to a new SK Hynix subsidiary called Solidigm, led by Robert B. Crooke, who was previously Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group.

On the other hand, Intel announced using these profits to “offer leadership products and promote its long-term growth priorities.” In this way, after this deal with SK Hynix, the blue company leaves the NAND flash memory market, at least for a long time.