Intel sells SSD business and Dalian facility to SK hynix

Intel Corp. has 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 announced Oct. 19, 2020.

Intel will 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. The final closing is expected to occur in or after 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, Solidigm, a subsidiary of SK hynix. Solidigm, whose name reflects a new paradigm in solid-state storage, will name Robert (Rob) B. Crooke as CEO. Crooke was previously Senior VP and GM of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. Solidigm will have its headquarters in San Jose, California.