SK Hynix CEO denies Intel NAND deal is expensive
Lee says US chip giant has many intangible assets
SK Hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee said on Thursday that he doesn’t believe the acquisition price for Intel’s NAND unit was expensive.
Lee was responding to questions from reporters following a local tradeshow.
The CEO said the price of US$9 billion reflects Intel’s competence in solid-state drives (SSD) and intangible assets.
SK Hynix had strength in the mobile sector while Intel had their competence in high-performance enterprise SSD, Lee said. As the pair’s portfolio don’t overlap, it will allow SK Hynix to offer a more comprehensive list of products to customers, he said.
SK Hynix makes NAND flash in the charge trap flash method while Intel uses floating gate method. Lee said the South Korean memory maker will utilize the strength of both methods.
SK Hynix will also continue to invest in Intel’s Dalian facility after the acquisition is complete, Lee said.
On whether SK Hynix will use the funds it has invested previously into Kioxia, formerly known as Toshiba Memory, for the purchase of Intel NAND flash unit, Lee said the investment into the Japanese memory maker was done for long-term collaboration. SK Hynix will continue to look at its investment into Kioxia at a strategic standpoint, he said. This is likely a denial.
Earlier this month, SK Hynix and Intel announced that the former would be buying the latter’s Non-volatile Memory Solution Group for US$9 billion. Intel’s Optane isn’t included in the list however.
SK Hynix will secure all the remaining NAND flash businesses of the US chip giant, including NAND flash memory, SSD and the Dalian fab in China (also known as Fab 68) as well as related personnel and intellectual properties.
Lee also said the company was close to finishing its M16 fab in South Korea within the year and is aiming to begin production in the first half of 2021. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) process will be applied starting on the later half of 2021 with a 10nm product, the CEO added.