SK hynix today announced that it has completed the first phase of the transaction to acquire Intel's NAND and solid-state drive (SSD) business. Following the recent merger clearance from China's State Administration for Market Regulation on Dec. 22, SK hynix closed the first phase of the transaction by acquiring Intel's SSD business and the Dalian NAND flash manufacturing facility in China. In exchange, SK hynix will pay US $7 billion in consideration.

In the second phase of the transaction, SK hynix will acquire from Intel the remaining assets in relation to its NAND business, including IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers, R&D employees for NAND flash wafers, the Dalian facility workforce, and the other associated tangible / intangible assets. Closing of the second phase is expected to occur in or after March 2025 with the remaining payment of US $2 billion, which will complete the entire deal.The newly established U.S subsidiary, which will manage the newly acquired SSD business, will be known as "Solidigm". This name reflects Solidigm's commitment to creating a new solid-state paradigm that provides unmatched customer service and revolutionizes the memory storage industry.

Solidigm will be headquartered in San Jose, California, and manage product development, manufacturing, and sales of the newly acquired SSD business, which was formerly operated by Intel. Lee Seok-hee, president and co-CEO of SK hynix will be appointed executive chairman of Solidigm, who will lead the post-merger integration processes after the 1st closing. Rob Crooke, former senior vice president of Intel will be appointed CEO of Solidigm.

SK hynix, Solidigm, and Intel will cooperate with each other for a successful final close of the deal.

SK hynix sees the opportunity to greatly enhance its NAND Flash business competitiveness to the level of its world-leading DRAM business, as SK hynix excels in mobile NAND flash while Solidigm shows industry-leading strengths in enterprise SSDs (eSSDs). SK hynix will be able to take advantage of the synergy of the combined business portfolio.

Park Jung-ho, vice chairman and co-CEO of SK hynix said, "My heartfelt welcome to the Solidigm team members who are joining our family. This acquisition will present a paradigm shifting moment for SK hynix's NAND flash business to enter the global top tier level. With this acquisition, SK hynix will be one step further in its path towards global 1st tier technology company."

"Solidigm is poised to be the world's next big semiconductor company, which presents an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent the data memory and storage industry," said Crooke. "We are steadfast in our commitment to lead the data industry in a way that can truly fuel human advancement."